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TORONTO (AP) — Ed Broadbent, the social democrat who helped build Canada's New Democratic Party, has died. He is 87 years old.

The Broadbent Institute, the Ottawa-based think tank he founded in 2011 to promote social and economic justice, announced his death Thursday. The cause of death has not been specified.

The institute called Broadbent a “strong advocate for ordinary Canadians.”

Many in Canada remember him as a tireless figure in the federal debates of the 1970s and 1980s, taking on four different prime ministers, including Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney.

“Ed dedicated decades of his life to fighting for justice and equality in Canada and around the world,” the Broadbent Institute said. “He was a rare intellectual who could connect the challenges facing ordinary citizens with movements and institutions fighting for economic democracy. »

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that “Canada is better” because of Broadbent’s “selfless service.”

“As a defender of equality and champion of justice, his commitment to helping others never wavered,” Trudeau said.

Broadbent represented his hometown, Oshawa, Ontario, in the House of Commons for 21 years, including 14 years as national leader of the New Democratic Party, from 1975 to 1989. He was also briefly the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Center from 2004 to 2006.

Under his leadership, the New Democratic Party gradually increased its number of seats in the House of Commons, from 17 in 1974 to 43 in 1988, a record that stood until Jack Layton brought the party to status official opposition in 2011 with 103 seats.

Broadbent also had influence over the Canadian version of the Bill of Rights after then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau asked him to help improve the text of the document.