About Ed Broadbent
John Edward Broadbent was a Canadian social-democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 1975 to 1989, and a member of Parliament from 1968 to 1990 and from 2004 to 2006. He led the NDP through four federal elections. He oversaw a period of growth for the party with its parliamentary representation rising from 17 to 43 seats as of the 1988 federal election. He later chaired the Broadbent Institute, a policy think tank founded in 2011. Broadbent was a university professor when he won a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of Oshawa—Whitby during the 1968 federal election. Broadbent won the 1975 leadership election to succeed Lewis, going on to lead the party through four national elections. Following the election, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau approached Broadbent about the possibility of forming a coalition government even though his Liberals had just won a working majority government.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.