The New Democratic Party is a social-democratic federal political party in Canada. The party was founded in 1961 out of the merger of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation with the Canadian Labour Congress. On the Canadian political scene, the party sits to the left of the Liberal Party. The NDP evolved in 1961 from a merger of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF grew from populist, agrarian and socialist roots into a modern social democratic party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left and the Social Gospel movement, the NDP is secular and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left, and advocates issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, international peace, and environmental stewardship.
