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Today in Canada's Political History - December 2, 1989: Audrey McLaughlin elected NDP leader

  • Arthur Milnes

  • National Newswatch

  • December 2, 2024

Arthur Milnes, creator of Art's History on National Newswatch, is an accomplished public historian, award-winning journalist, and in-house historian at the Frontenac Club Hotel who brings Canada's political history to life through engaging stories, historical insights, and personal anecdotes drawn from his encounters with many of the country's leading figures.

Yukon’s Audrey McLaughlin made history on this date in 1989 with her election as the NDP’s national leader at the party’s Winnipeg leadership convention. In succeeding Ed Broadbent, she became the first-ever female leader of a federal political party. McLaughlin would go on to lead the NDP until 1995. Now 88, this pioneering Canadian leader was invested an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003. Happy anniversary from Art’s History Ms. McLaughlin.