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http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/08/22/layton-obituary.html

 

NDP Leader Jack Layton, who led Canada's Official Opposition, has died at his Toronto home at age 61 after a long battle with cancer.

 

Layton died peacefully at his home in Toronto early Monday, surrounded by family and loved ones, according to a statement from his wife, Olivia Chow, and his children, Sarah and Michael Layton.

 

"The struggle has ended for Jack Layton, I mean very quickly," said CBC's Chief Correspondent Peter Mansbridge, who broke the news over the air. "I think we all knew when we saw those pictures in late July that this was a difficult situation. But it went very fast in the month since then."

 

Jack Layton takes questions at a town hall meeting during an election campaign stop in Sudbury, Ont., April 1, 2011. As NDP leader, Layton led the federal party to its best showing ever on May 2. Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press

After the news of Layton's death emerged shortly after 8 a.m. ET, friends, colleagues and Canadians reacted quickly.

 

Longtime NDP leader and MP Ed Broadbent told CBC News that he is "deeply saddened such a great Canadian is taken from us in the very prime of his life."

 

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said the news took his breath away and that Layton's death is not just a loss for his party, but for all Canadians.

 

"It's a loss for the country because he was a political guy who believed strongly in politics and who had a lot of resilience and a lot of guts," Rae told CBC News.

 

The leader of the Official Opposition announced on July 25 he was stepping away from the job, a role he coveted and had won only two months earlier, to concentrate on his cancer treatment so he could come back to Parliament in the fall, ready to fight for Canadian families.

 

Fighting with hope and optimism was a recurring theme in Layton's life. Long before his battles with cancer, Layton had developed a reputation as a fighter a determined, goal-oriented, passionate one who would take on a cause and not let go.

 

In his teens in the 1960s, he led a fruitless bid to have a youth centre built in his hometown of Hudson, Que. Later, as a community organizer and activist in Toronto, and then in his political work, Layton showed a passion for such issues as the environment, AIDS, poverty, violence against women, public transportation and homelessness. Layton also fought for aboriginal issues, and was given credit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008 for his role in shaping the federal government's apology for the residential school system.

 

As longtime New Democrat and union leader Al Cerilli told CBC News in an interview several years ago, "Good or bad, he's on the front page, he's in your face," he said. "Jack is not shy, he is of that nature, of bringing the things out and putting them on the front page."

 

Born in Montreal on July 18, 1950, Layton had politics in his blood. His great-grand uncle William Steeves was a Father of Confederation. His great-grandfather Philip Layton came to Canada from Britain as a blind teenager and helped pressure the federal government to bring in a $25-a-month pension for the blind. His grandfather Gilbert Layton was a Quebec cabinet minister under Maurice Duplessis and his father Robert Layton was a Tory cabinet minister in Brian Mulroney's Conservative government.

 

That family tradition lives on. Layton's son Michael followed in his father's footsteps as a Toronto city councillor.

 

In addition to learning about politics first-hand from his family, Layton studied political science and economics at McGill University, graduating in 1970. He went on to earn a master's degree and his PhD in political science at York University in 1983. He wasted no time putting his knowledge from the classroom into practice and ran for Toronto city council in 1982 before he had even finished his doctorate.

 

Layton didn't leave the classroom after winning his seat on city council. While making waves at city hall, he taught politics at the University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson.

 

Layton ran unsuccessfully for mayor in Toronto in 1991, and twice failed to win a seat in the House of Commons that decade. But he kept fighting.

 

Layton's profile on the national scene was boosted by his election as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 2000, and three years later he made a run for the leadership of the New Democratic Party. He defeated several sitting NDP MPs in the heated race and in his victory speech, Layton talked about hope.

 

"Hope ... is what drives New Democrats," he said, adding that his party "will always be the party of hope."

 

He led the party for a year before he tried for a seat in the House of Commons, in the 2004 federal election, when he was finally victorious in the Toronto-Danforth riding. And in 2006, Layton's wife, Chow, joined him as the MP for the nearby Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina.

 

 

For the non-canadians, Jack Layton was the leader of the Federal NDP party (basically our furthest left major party). He died of cancer this morning.

 

Personally, despite disagreeing with practically all of his policies, I respected his political savvy and passion. He'll be missed.

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"It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti

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WHAT? Is this for real?

 

Edit: Oh my gosh, this is a shock.

 

RIP.

Yeah.

 

When he made the announcement that he was taking the summer off and would be back in September I was skeptical. My gf's grandfather died of cancer just a few months previous, so I know what terminal cancer looks like - and he (layton) looked pretty bad. Of course, I was hopeful he'd be fine, but I'm not that surprised.

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"It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti

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Christ. I remember reading about him stepping down temporarily last month; I had no idea he was so ill.

 

RIP.


"Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me."

- H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau

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Seems like everyone's dropping like flies due to cancer lately. :|

 

I didn't know flies got cancer.

Stop being a prat. This isn't the thread to make [cabbage] jokes.


"Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me."

- H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau

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Under his leadership, he's overseen the NDP going from a small minority to the second strongest party in Canada. He was a great man, and he will be missed.

Yeah. Pity he couldn't really reap the benefits of his latest achievement.

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"It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti

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I'd imagine it's going to affect the NDP quite a lot, especially in the next election (even though, judging by the fact the Conservatives have a majority, it will probably be far off from now).

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Seems like everyone's dropping like flies due to cancer lately. :|

 

I didn't know flies got cancer.

Stop being a prat. This isn't the thread to make [cabbage] jokes.

 

Sheesh, just trying to lighten the mood.

 

Condolences to his family is what's in my mind right now. Wonder how they're doing.

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I wonder if NDP votes will go up because he died, or go down because they can never find someone as personable as Jack. Don't think you could find a person who would say anything bad of him

Honestly, my opinion is that most people voted for Jack rather than the NDP. He just had something about him that made you want to like him. None of the other leaders really have that which is probably why the NDP jumped so much in the last election. So unless they find someone with that certain je ne sais pas, the NDP won't be nearly the same without him.

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I was incredibly surprised. It's sad that such a charismatic man had to die months after he achieved what no one before him was able to (within the NDP.) Out of all the NDP leaders, I'd put him second best behind J.S. Woodsworth. hell, I'd say he matched him politically.

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I wonder if NDP votes will go up because he died, or go down because they can never find someone as personable as Jack. Don't think you could find a person who would say anything bad of him

Honestly, my opinion is that most people voted for Jack rather than the NDP. He just had something about him that made you want to like him. None of the other leaders really have that which is probably why the NDP jumped so much in the last election. So unless they find someone with that certain je ne sais pas, the NDP won't be nearly the same without him.

I agree with this. Last election, Quebec in particular voted for him (with so many completely unqualified MPs being elected). I think the NDP is going to lose a lot of seats next election.

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"It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti

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I just saw on the news some of this press conferences just before he said he was going to take some time off to recover, he definately looked a lot worse than I imagined.

 

Again it is such a shame to see him go especially after what he accomplished. Just hope this isn't a huge blow to the party and that someone else will step up.

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Here's the last letter that he wrote. Thought it would be interesting to read, so I posted it here.

 

Jack Layton, MP, Député

Toronto Danforth

Leader of the Official Opposition/Chef de l'Opposition officielle

Leader, New Democratic Party/Chef, Nouveau Parti démocratique

August 20, 2011

Toronto, Ontario

 

Dear Friends,

 

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

 

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

 

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

 

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

 

A few additional thoughts:

 

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please dont be discouraged that my own journey hasnt gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

 

To the members of my party: weve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Lets continue to move forward. Lets demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

 

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

 

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canadas Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

 

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

 

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the worlds environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Dont let them tell you it cant be done.

 

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And well change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

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That letter was a pretty sad read. Thanks for posting it.


"Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me."

- H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau

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I wonder if NDP votes will go up because he died, or go down because they can never find someone as personable as Jack. Don't think you could find a person who would say anything bad of him

Honestly, my opinion is that most people voted for Jack rather than the NDP. He just had something about him that made you want to like him. None of the other leaders really have that which is probably why the NDP jumped so much in the last election. So unless they find someone with that certain je ne sais pas, the NDP won't be nearly the same without him.

I agree with this. Last election, Quebec in particular voted for him (with so many completely unqualified MPs being elected). I think the NDP is going to lose a lot of seats next election.

 

Not only in Quebec, but in most of eastern Canada. Unfortunately with our system with 2 left parties and one right one, conservative went in in some places where most of the votes were NDP/Liberal, it's like that at least here in N-B.

 

Nonetheless, he was a very good leader and it is a shame to lose him. Jack, you did a very good job and we hope we will get more people like you in our government.

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I enjoyed this:

 

First of all, a caveat: I'm a French-speaking Quebecer and it's the first time I write a political comment in English. So I want to apologize in advance for the incoming grammar and syntax errors and gallicisms. (Oh, and another one: I didn't vote for the guy. I'm not a party hack either; I'm an independent.)

 

There's a huge something left unsaid in the passing of Jack Layton, either in your reader commentary or Mr. Horgan's. It's the impossibility of Layton's career that makes him so remarkable as a person. This man was what we call in Quebec a "maudit anglais" - a damn Englishman. A scion of one of the great colonial families that ruled Canada from the Golden Square Mile in Montreal, whose forebears were ministers for the Conservative Party. He became a leftist in the '70s and surged as the leader of the NDP (the Canadian version of the Labour) in the last decade. In the last election he gave the NDP its best results ever AND was able to beat the nationalist Bloc Quebecois on its own turf. He ended the career of the most popular politicians in Quebec, Gilles Duceppe, son of the great Quebecer actor Jean Duceppe. He broke the back of the Liberal Party (which was still called the Natural Ruling Party of Canada three years ago).

 

This is awesome. This is incredible.

 

The political pundits in Canada were still wrapping their head around this when Jack Layton passed away. The only way I could explain that is by offering two weak analogies: imagine in the UK a charismatic Protestant defeating Gerry Adams and winning almost the Catholic ridings in Northern Ireland PLUS giving the Labour such a beating that it would fade in third party status. Or imagine a Castillan becoming the popular leader of the Basques. It doesn't make sense!

 

In all the history of Canada, Quebecers NEVER gave a majority of their votes to an ethnic English party leader (and a Protestant to boot, even if religion doesn't hold much sway anymore in Quebec politics). Never. Irish, Scots - rarely. English, ha! People say that politics are civil in Canada. They don't know Quebec, where the toxicity level is quite high and identity politics and class warfare are part of the game (it's not Arizona, but frequently things are said here that would give the creeps to many pundits).

 

But the guy had this super smile, and said things like "When I'm Prime Minister, I'll hold China accountable for its treatment of Tibet" with a willful look. And people tended to believe him because he got results, however seemingly impossible the objectives. He also had dignitas without unnecessary gravitas.

 

So this idealist (quixotic?) bloke from uptown, who speaks a hesitant French, with a moustache and a cane, changes the face of politics in the spring and dies by the summer, leaving us with a dream of purpose and appealing to our better selves. And leaving the left decapitated in front of the most conservative and ideological government Canada ever had.

 

I'm still shocked.

 

I tried all day to find an historical character to give a reference to a stranger to Canada. Perhaps a mix of Wilberforce and Zola, with a touch of RFK? A Gracchus without the anger? A Nick Clegg with a spine? Al Gore for the principles but without the stiffness, Ted Kennedy for the political acumen but without the sleaziness, likeable like Joe Biden but with speech discipline (for lack of a better word) and facial hair.

 

I hope this gives some perspective on this remarkable man.

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