'Mentor, friend, champion': Ed Broadbent remembered fondly by those who worked with him

Ed Broadbent is being remembered fondly as a friend, mentor and champion for change by those who knew and worked with him.

The Broadbent Institute, which he founded, announced his death in a statement Thursday afternoon. He was 87.

Current NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Broadbent helped him «tremendously with his advice and encouragement» after he won the leadership in 2017.

«Whenever I asked anything of him — to talk through policy ideas, to help with a challenging political problem or to campaign with me — he always said 'yes,'» Singh wrote in a media statement.

«I have often said that Ed was who I wanted to be when I grew up. He taught me about leadership and how to turn political principle into actions that helped improve the lives of Canadians.»

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences to Broadbent's family and friends in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

«Canada is better off because of Ed Broadbent's selfless service. An advocate for equality and champion for justice, his commitment to helping others never wavered,» Trudeau wrote.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney told CBC News Network's that Broadbent was a «giant in the Canadian political scene.»

«He would have been prime minister if he had been leading any other party,» he told host David Cochrane.

As one of his chief political opponents in the 1980s, Mulroney said Broadbent was «extremely pleasant» but also a «tough and strong debater.»

«I consider him a great parliamentarian and a major contributor to Canadian progress during the decade and a half we were together,» he said.

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien recalled working with Broadbent in the House of Commons when he was a minister in Pierre Trudeau's government. Chrétien told reporters