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=== Candidacy for NDP leadership (2011-Present) ===
=== Candidacy for NDP leadership (2011-Present) ===
In September 2011, Brian Topp announced that he was running in the [[New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012|2012 NDP leadership race]] in a press conference with supporters [[Françoise Boivin]], MP for Gatineau, and former NDP leader [[Ed Broadbent]].<ref name=topprun>{{cite news|last=LeBlanc|first=Daniel|title=Brian Topp makes it official: He’s running for NDP leader|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/brian-topp-makes-it-official-hes-running-for-ndp-leader/article2162352/?from=sec431|accessdate=September 12, 2011|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> Boivin had previously considered running herself and Ed Broadbent had endorsed [[Jack Layton]]'s candidacy for the leadership in 2003. Topp's name had been circulated as a leading candidate shortly following the death of his friend and colleague, [[Jack Layton]]. [[Dawn Black]], [[leader of the opposition]] in the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]], previously endorsed Topp's candidacy for the NDP leadership.<ref>{{cite news|last=Oneill|first=Peter|title=NDP split over plan to end special clout of unions|url=http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Democrats+considering+special+union+voting+status+conventions/5347137/story.html|accessdate=12 September 2011|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=2 September 2011}}</ref>
In September 2011, Brian Topp announced that he was running in the [[New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012|2012 NDP leadership race]] in a press conference with supporters [[Françoise Boivin]], MP for Gatineau, and former NDP leader [[Ed Broadbent]].<ref name=topprun>{{cite news|last=LeBlanc|first=Daniel|title=Brian Topp makes it official: He’s running for NDP leader|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/brian-topp-makes-it-official-hes-running-for-ndp-leader/article2162352/?from=sec431|accessdate=September 12, 2011|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> Boivin had previously considered running herself and Ed Broadbent had endorsed [[Jack Layton]]'s candidacy for the leadership in 2003. Topp's name had been circulated as a leading candidate shortly following the death of his friend and colleague, [[Jack Layton]]. [[Dawn Black]], former [[Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)|leader of the opposition]] in the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]], previously endorsed Topp's candidacy for the NDP leadership.<ref>{{cite news|last=Oneill|first=Peter|title=NDP split over plan to end special clout of unions|url=http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Democrats+considering+special+union+voting+status+conventions/5347137/story.html|accessdate=12 September 2011|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=2 September 2011}}</ref>


== Other work ==
== Other work ==

Revision as of 20:00, 12 September 2011

Brian Topp
President of the New Democratic Party
Assumed office
June 18, 2011
Preceded byPeggy Nash
Personal details
BornJuly 4, 1960
Montreal, Quebec
Political partyNew Democratic Party
SpouseRebecca Elbourne (since 1993)
Childrentwo sons
ResidenceToronto, Ontario
Alma materMcGill University
Professionunion leader, political strategist, writer

Brian Topp (born July 4, 1960) is a candidate for the leadership of the NDP, a political strategist and author.[1] He currently serves as the president of the federal New Democratic Party, is the Director of Information Services at ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) and the Executive Director and CEO of ACTRA Toronto. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Topp is fluent in both of Canada's official languages. He is married to Rebecca Elbourne with whom he has two sons.[2]

Personal Life

Brian Topp was born in Longueuil, Quebec in 1960 and he grew up on the South Shore of Montreal.[3] His mother was a francophone Quebecker and his father was an anglophone from the Eastern townships.[3] Topp's father would occasionally lecture at McGill's school of commerce during the 1970s.[4] In 1993, Topp married Rebecca Elbourne with whom he has two sons. His wife ran unsuccessfully as an NDP candidate in previous elections, as did his mother-in-law. Following the NDP's breakthrough in 2011, Topp jokingly said, "too bad they didn't run this time."[5]

Early years

Brian Topp studied social sciences at Champlain Regional College, a Montreal CEGEP, from 1977 to 1979. He was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and was elected to the College Board of Governors where he served on the executive committee.[6] In 1979 he enrolled at McGill University where he studied history and political science.[6][7] While at McGill he was a senior news editor with the McGill Daily and he was a member of the Scarlet Key Honour Society.[6] As a reporter for the McGill Daily in 1981 Topp asked Bob Rae -- then an NDP member of parliament -- a "disrespectful question" and, in Topp's words, Rae "blew his stack."[8] In 1983 Topp founded Studio Apostrophe, a graphic design and typesetting company which produced Open City Magazine, a publication described as a precursor to the Montreal Mirror,[9] which Topp served as the editor-in-chief of.[6][7]

Political career

Entry to Politics: Montreal and Ottawa (1985-1993)

Brian Topp has been involved in the NDP at provincial and federal levels for several decades.[10] He joined the NDP in 1980 in order to support Ed Broadbent.[3] Topp was active with the NDP in Quebec long before their political breakthrough; Topp first campaigned for the NDP during a 1985 provincial byelection in Montreal.[7] He later said that they "had a big party afterwards, dancing on tables even, because we increased our vote from one per cent to two per cent."[7] He became active with the federal NDP during the 1988 election campaign[11] and first went to Ottawa in 1990[12] as an aide to Montreal area NDP MP Phil Edmonston,[13] whom he'd helped become the first elected Quebec MP in NDP history.[14]

Romanow Government (1993-2000)

He then moved west to work with the Saskatchewan NDP as deputy chief of staff to Premier Roy Romanow[10] from 1993 to 2000.[14] In that position he helped to keep a minority NDP government in power by striking a coalition agreement with the Liberals.[15]

Return to Ottawa (1997-2011)

He co-ordinated the war room for the federal NDP during the 1997 and 2004 elections and was the party's national campaign director in 2006 and 2008 and a senior adviser to Layton during the 2011 federal election[10][16] and was intimately involved in negotiating the Liberal-NDP coalition agreement during the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute.[14] Topp wrote about his experience negotiating this coalition in his memoir, How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition.[17] He also served as an adviser to former Toronto Mayor David Miller[18] during his successful election campaign in 2003. Topp has been recruited by Adrian Dix to manage the British Columbia New Democratic Party's campaign in the fall 2011 provincial election.[19]

He became president of the New Democratic Party of Canada in 2011.[10] When elected to the position, Jack Layton said of him, "[he's] one of the most principled and hard-working people I know. He’s been an integral part of our team for years and is just the person we need to bring us to the next level."[7]

Although Topp is well respected for his negotiation skills and he has spoken in favour of cooperation between the NDP and the Liberals, he has rejected a merger of the parties saying, "We don’t have to become Liberals to win office."[20]

Candidacy for NDP leadership (2011-Present)

In September 2011, Brian Topp announced that he was running in the 2012 NDP leadership race in a press conference with supporters Françoise Boivin, MP for Gatineau, and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent.[21] Boivin had previously considered running herself and Ed Broadbent had endorsed Jack Layton's candidacy for the leadership in 2003. Topp's name had been circulated as a leading candidate shortly following the death of his friend and colleague, Jack Layton. Dawn Black, former leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, previously endorsed Topp's candidacy for the NDP leadership.[22]

Other work

Topp currently serves as executive director of ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists). He is also a member of the board of directors for Pinewood Toronto Studios, he is chair of the board for the Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union, he is a co-chair of FilmOntario and he is a member of the board of directors for ROI Fund.[6]

Topp is the author of How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition, a memoir about his experience attempting to broker a coalition between the NDP and the Liberals to take down Stephen Harper's Conservative government. The book details the negotiations that he engaged in with Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Dawn Black, Ed Broadbent, Jean Chrétien, Roy Romanow and Allan Blakeney. The book was nominated by Samara and the Writers' Trust of Canada as one of the "Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years."[23]

Topp also writes a column for the Globe and Mail. In one piece, he argued against supporting tax cuts with debt and supported the deep government spending cuts of the PASOK-led government in Greece, writing, "the root causes of all of this madness needs to be addressed in the style Prime Minister Papandreou is using to address the crisis here in Greece."[24]

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Democratic Party.

References

  1. ^ Topp, Brian (2010). How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition. Lorimer. p. 192. ISBN 155277502X.
  2. ^ Smith, Joanna (7 September 2011). "Topp touts his long experience in politics as NDP leader material". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Topp, Brian. "Campaign Announcement". Brian Topp. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  4. ^ Topp, Brian (15 March 2010). "The central fact of Canadian politics". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  5. ^ MacKinnon, Leslie. "The NDP and the art of bouncing back". CBC. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Brian Topp". LinkedIn.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Topp pushed onto national stage in midst of 'heartbreaking' leadership setback". The Hill Times Online. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  8. ^ Topp, Brian (2010). How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition. Lorimer. p. 192. ISBN 155277502X.
  9. ^ Sobol, John. "Footbag/AKI/Hackeysack". The Media League. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d Bryden, Joan (August 23, 2011). "Top adviser Topp is front-runner to succeed Layton". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  11. ^ Topp, Brian (2010). How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition. Lorimer. p. 192. ISBN 155277502X.
  12. ^ "The contenders". National Post. August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  13. ^ Galloway, Gloria (August 23, 2011). "Who's likely to succeed Jack Layton at NDP helm?". Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  14. ^ a b c Taber, Jane (August 27, 2011). "Who is NDP leadership contender Brian Topp?". Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  15. ^ Olive, David. "Brian Topp, leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Press release: Brian Topp elected New Democrat president". New Democratic Party of Canada. June 18, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  17. ^ Topp, Brian (2010). How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition. Lorimer. p. 192. ISBN 155277502X.
  18. ^ Harper, Tim (August 25, 2011). "Who can carry the Layton torch?". The Star. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  19. ^ Holman, Sean (June 29, 2011). "Layton strategist Brian Topp to manage NDP's B.C. campaign". Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  20. ^ Smith, Joanna (7 September 2011). "Topp touts his long experience in politics as NDP leader material". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  21. ^ LeBlanc, Daniel (September 12, 2011). "Brian Topp makes it official: He's running for NDP leader". Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  22. ^ Oneill, Peter (2 September 2011). "NDP split over plan to end special clout of unions". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  23. ^ "List of Nominations". Samara. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  24. ^ Topp, Brian (July 1, 2011). "From Vancouver to Athens, sensible alternatives to conservative misrule". Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2011.

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