John Gilbert "Jack" Layton,
PCThe Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian
social democraticSocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the
New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on
Toronto City CouncilThe Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of
Toronto—DanforthToronto—Danforth is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto....
from
2004The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
until his death.
The son of a
Progressive ConservativeThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
cabinet minister, Layton was raised in
Hudson, QuebecHudson, Quebec, Canada, is a town with a population of 5,088 on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of downtown Montreal, many residents commute to work on the Island of Montreal.- Location and...
. He rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on city and
Metropolitan TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
councils, and was also a Board member for the
Toronto Port AuthorityThe Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...
. In 1991, he ran for mayor, but lost to
June RowlandsJune Rowlands was the 60th mayor of Toronto, Ontario, and the first woman to hold that office. She had previously been a long time city councillor, unsuccessful federal candidate, and chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission....
. Returning to council he rose to become head of the
Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesThe Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...
. In 2003, he was elected head of the NDP on the first ballot of the convention. Under his leadership, the NDP considerably increased their support, almost doubling the party's popular vote in the
2004 electionThe Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, though
vote splittingVote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate....
with the Liberals limited their gain in seats. Layton's NDP held balance of power in
Paul MartinPaul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's
minority governmentA minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, where in May 2005 the NDP supported the
Liberal budgetThe 2005 Canadian federal budget was the budget of the Government of Canada for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. It was presented on February 23, 2005, by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. It was the first federal budget presented by a minority government in Canada since the budget presented by the...
in exchange for major amendments, in what was promoted as Canada's "First NDP budget". In November of that year, Layton worked with other opposition parties in bringing down the Liberal government over the findings of the
Gomery CommissionThe Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
.
The NDP saw further gains in the
2006The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
and
2008 electionsThe 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, in which the party won more seats than it had since its 1980s peak. The NDP's tally of 37 MPs under Layton in the 2008 election was just six seats short of the party's previous
all-time highThe Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
under
Ed BroadbentJohn Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life...
. In the 2011 election, Layton led the NDP to a historic total of 103 seats and formed the
Official OppositionIn Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
. The success of the NDP in the election was unprecedented, making Layton the most successful leader electorally in the party's history in terms of seats won.
Layton died on August 22, 2011, aged 61, after suffering from an undisclosed type of cancer. He was married to fellow MP
Olivia ChowOlivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
.
Early life and education
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton was born in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and raised in nearby
Hudson, QuebecHudson, Quebec, Canada, is a town with a population of 5,088 on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of downtown Montreal, many residents commute to work on the Island of Montreal.- Location and...
, a comfortable and largely
AnglophoneEnglish Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...
community. His parents were Doris Elizabeth Steeves, a grand-niece of
William SteevesWilliam Henry Steeves was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation.-Life and career:...
, a
Father of ConfederationThe Fathers of Confederation are the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at...
, and Progressive Conservative MP
Robert LaytonRobert Edward John "Bob" Layton, PC was a Canadian politician.-Early career:Robert Layton was born in Montreal, the son of Norah Lestelle and former Quebec cabinet minister Gilbert Layton. He graduated from McGill University in 1947...
. He was elected student council president of his high school, Hudson High School, and his yearbook predicted that he would become a politician. He graduated from
McGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1970 with an Honours
BAA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in
political sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and became a Brother of the
Sigma ChiSigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
fraternity.
In 1969–70 he was the Prime Minister of the
Quebec Youth ParliamentThe Parlement jeunesse du Québec is one of a number of provincial youth parliaments across Canada. Each year, about a hundred of young participants, aged between 18 and 25, meet up in Quebec to discuss and debate like the real politicians. It aims to reproduce as faithfully as it can the...
.
Layton credits a professor at McGill, the political philosopher Charles Taylor, with being the primary influence in his decision to switch from a science degree to an arts degree. Moreover, it was on Taylor's advice that he pursued his doctorate in Toronto to study the work of University of Toronto political philosopher C.B. Macpherson. In what is perhaps his most complete articulation of his political philosophy, a foreword he wrote for
Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom, he explains that, "The idealist current holds that human society has the potential to achieve liberty when people work together to form a society in which equality means more than negative liberty, the absolute and protected right to run races against each other to determine winners. Idealists imagine a positive liberty that enables us to build together toward common objectives that fulfill and even surpass our individual goals." Upon reading Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom, Layton came to understand himself as part of the intellectual tradition of Canadian Idealists.
In 1970, the family moved to Toronto where Layton graduated the following year from
York UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
with an
MAA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in
political sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. In 1974, he completed his
PhDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in
political sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at York. In 1974, Layton became a professor at
Ryerson UniversityRyerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
. Over the next decade, he taught at Ryerson, York, and the University of Toronto. He also became a prominent activist for a variety of causes. He wrote several books, including
Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis and, more recently, a book on general public policy,
Speaking Out.
Family and personal life
Layton's great-granduncle,
William SteevesWilliam Henry Steeves was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation.-Life and career:...
, was a
Father of ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
. His great-grandfather Philip E. Layton was a
blindBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
activist who founded the Montreal Association for the Blind in 1908 and led a campaign for
disability pensionA disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. It is distinct from welfare.- North America :...
s in the 1930s. Philip was the senior partner in the family business, Layton Bros. Pianos. Layton Pianos had been made in London, England since 1837, and Philip had emigrated to Montreal at the age of 19. Philip was a blind organist, composer ("Dominion March", played on carillon at Jack's lying-in-state), piano tuner, and piano retailer. The family business survives as Layton Audio in Montreal.
Jack Layton's grandfather,
Gilbert LaytonGilbert Layton was a businessman and politician in Quebec, Canada.-Background:Born in Montreal, Quebec, Layton, the son of Philip Edward David Layton and Alice Marion Gilbert, was a merchant and business executive in the family firm of Layton Brothers from 1918 to 1932...
, was a cabinet minister in the
Union Nationale government of
Maurice DuplessisMaurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...
in Quebec, and resigned due to the provincial government's lack of support for Canadian participation in World War II. His father,
Robert LaytonRobert Edward John "Bob" Layton, PC was a Canadian politician.-Early career:Robert Layton was born in Montreal, the son of Norah Lestelle and former Quebec cabinet minister Gilbert Layton. He graduated from McGill University in 1947...
, was a
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
activist in the 1960s and 1970s, and served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and
Cabinet ministerThe Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
in the 1980s under Prime Minister
Brian MulroneyMartin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
.
Layton was raised as a member of the
United Church of CanadaThe United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
, and was a member of the
Bloor Street United ChurchBloor Street United Church is a United Church of Canada church located at 300 Bloor Street West in downtown Toronto, near the intersection with Huron Street. It is just north of the University of Toronto, and between the Spadina and St. George Subway Stations.As with many of the downtown Toronto...
parish in Toronto. However, he also sometimes attended services at the
Metropolitan Community Church of TorontoThe Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto is a congregation of the worldwide Metropolitan Community Church movement located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is an welcoming congregation openly affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual and transgender people...
, whose pastor,
Brent HawkesBrent Hawkes, is a Canadian clergyman. Since 1977, he has served as senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto for LGBT parishioners, and is one of Canada's leading gay rights activists....
, was a longtime New Democratic Party activist and a personal friend of Layton's.
In 1969, at age 19, Jack married his high school sweetheart Sally Halford, with whom he had two children,
MikeMichael Layton is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Toronto City Council in the 2010 city council election to succeed Joe Pantalone in Ward 19.-Background:...
, currently a
Toronto City CouncilThe Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
lor, and Sarah, currently a senior staffer for the
Stephen Lewis FoundationThe Stephen Lewis Foundation is a non-governmental organization that assists mostly AIDS and HIV-related grassroots projects in Africa.-History:...
. Layton and Halford's marriage ended in divorce 1983 after 14 years.
Layton first met
Olivia ChowOlivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
in 1985, during an
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
at Village by the Grange, in which Jack was the auctioneer and Olivia was the translator for the
Cantonese languageCantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
observers. They had been previously acquainted, however, they realized that they were both candidates in the upcoming election and decided to have lunch together to talk about the campaign. Three weeks after the auction, they went on their first date. Chow went on a pre-arranged
canoeingCanoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
trip, with three other men, and spent a weekend at a
cottage__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
then moved in together. Olivia's mother did not approve of Jack, at first, because of his race as well as his not being a
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
or
doctorA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. Jack was invited to
dinnerDinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
at the home of Olivia's mother, where they also played
mahjongMahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
. After the dinner, Jack attempted to thank Olivia's mother, in
CantoneseCantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
, however, Jack's incorrect
toneTone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
had him inadvertently saying, "Thank you for the good sex." Layton stated "My faux pas broke the ice completely. We've been good buddies ever since."
Layton was known for playing music and singing songs at party gatherings.
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
NDPThe Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
Leader
Brian MasonBrian Mason is a Canadian politician and leader of the Alberta New Democrats . Mason was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in a 2001 byelection, and his career in politics spans more than 20 years.Mason first became politically active...
remembered during the three-day board meetings when Layton was running for the president of the
Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesThe Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...
:“He would gather people together in his hotel room and play the guitar and get everybody singing old
folk songsFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
from the ’60s. He just got people involved, just with his personality, not politics.”
At the 2005
Parliamentary Press GalleryThe Parliamentary Press Gallery is an association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. The organization was formed the same year as Canada's Confederation in 1867, by The Honourable Thomas White. During the early years of the...
Dinner (typically a satirical event), Layton sent up himself and his party, playing guitar and singing three songs; "Party for Sale or Rent" (to the tune of "
King of the Road"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.The lyrics tell of a hobo who despite being poor revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road"...
"), a re-worked version of "
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
" with different humorous lyrics, and "If I Had Another $4.6 Billion".
Layton was a keen
TrekkieA Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
, having a custom
StarfleetIn the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
uniform made by a tailor. Layton was famously photographed wearing his uniform at a Star Trek convention in 1991.
Toronto City Council
At York and Ryerson, Layton developed close links with a number of Toronto figures including
John SewellJohn Sewell, CM is a Canadian political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1978 to 1980.-Background:...
and
David Crombie. He was first elected to
Toronto City CouncilThe Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
in 1982, in a surprise upset against incumbent
Gordon ChongGordon Joseph Chong is a Toronto politician and public servant. He has served as a city of Toronto councillor and was vice-chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission. He served on the board of GO Transit from 2000 to 2006 including periods as vice-chairman of GO Transit and chairman...
. He quickly became one of the most outspoken members of council, and a leader of the left wing. He was one of the most vocal opponents of the massive
SkyDomeRogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
project, and an early advocate for rights for AIDS patients. In 1984, he was fined for trespassing when he handed out leaflets at the
Toronto Eaton CentreThe Toronto Eaton Centre is a large shopping mall and office complex in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, named after the now-defunct Eaton's department store chain that once anchored it. In terms of the number of visitors, the shopping mall is Toronto's top tourist attraction, with around one...
during a strike by
Eaton'sThe T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
staff, but the charge was later thrown out on freedom of speech grounds. Layton was also one of the few opponents to Toronto's bid for the
1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. In 1985, he moved to the
Metropolitan TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
council, in the first direct elections for members of that body. In the 1988 municipal elections, Layton traded places with City Council ally Dale Martin, with Martin going to Metro and Layton returning to Toronto City Council. Layton was easily elected in a contest with former high school teacher Lois MacMillan-Walker. The election was a major victory for Layton as the reformist coalition of which he was the
de facto head gained control of City Council, the first time in city history a coalition of New Democrats and independents controlled council.
On July 9, 1988, he married Hong Kong-born
Toronto District School BoardToronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
trustee
Olivia ChowOlivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
in a ceremony on
Algonquin IslandThe Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour...
. Their whitewater rafting honeymoon plans had to be abandoned, however, when days before the wedding Layton collided with a newspaper box while bicycling. Chow later joined Layton on the Toronto City Council. She has been a candidate for the federal New Democrats five times, first winning her seat the third time in a close race against
Tony IannoTony Ianno, PC is a businessman and a former Canadian politician. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada MP representing Trinity-Spadina and Minister of Families and Caregivers .-Personal life:...
in the 2006 Canadian election, and re-elected in 2008 and 2011.
Layton and Chow were also the subject of some dispute when a June 14, 1990,
Toronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
article by Tom Kerr accused them of unfairly living in a
housing cooperativeA housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
subsidized by the
federal governmentThe Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
, despite their high income. Layton and Chow had both lived in the Hazelburn co-op since 1985, and lived together in an $800 per month three-bedroom apartment after their marriage in 1988. By 1990, their combined annual income was $120,000, and in March of that year they began voluntarily paying an additional $325 per month to offset their share of the co-op's
Canada Mortgage and Housing CorporationCanada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is a Crown corporation, owned by the Government of Canada, founded after World War II to provide housing for returning soldiers...
subsidy, the only members of the co-op to do so. In response to the article, the co-op's board argued that having mixed-income tenants was crucial to the success of co-ops, and that the laws deliberately set aside apartments for those willing to pay market rates, such as Layton and Chow. During the late 1980s and early 1990s they maintained approximately 30% of their units as low income units and provided the rest at what they considered market rent. In June 1990, the city's solicitor cleared the couple of any wrong-doing, and later that month, Layton and Chow left the co-op and bought a house in
Toronto's ChinatownChinatown is an ethnic enclave in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatowns in North America and...
together with Chow's mother, a move they said had been planned for some time. Former Toronto mayor John Sewell later wrote in
NOWNow is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
that rival Toronto city councillor
Tom JakobekTom Jakobek is a former member of the Toronto City Council. He was first elected to council in 1982 after serving as a school trustee, and remained a member until 2000....
had given the story to Tom Kerr.
Originally known for coming to council meetings in blue jeans with unkempt hair, Layton worked to change his image to run for mayor in the
1991 civic electionThe 1991 Toronto municipal election was held on November 12, 1991 to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke....
. He also started wearing contact lenses, abandoning his glasses, and traded in his blue jeans for suits. In February 1991, Layton became the first official NDP candidate for the mayoralty, pitting him against centrist incumbent
Art EggletonArthur "Art" C. Eggleton, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario.-City council:...
. In a move that surprised many, Eggleton elected not to run again.
Layton was opposed by three right-of-centre candidates:
Susan FishSusan Fish is a former Canadian politician. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1987, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill Davis and Frank Miller....
, June Rowlands, and
Betty DiseroBetty Disero is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was elected to the Toronto City Council in 1985, and served until her resignation in 2003.-Early life and career:...
. Right-wing support soon coalesced around former city councillor Rowlands, preventing the internal divisions Layton needed to win office. Layton was also hurt by the growing unpopularity of the provincial NDP government of
Bob RaeRobert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, and by his earlier opposition to Toronto's Olympic bid. Bid organizer
Paul Henderson1964 Enoshima 12 th Flying Dutchman1968 Acapulco 20 th FinnPaul Franklin Henderson , Toronto is a former president of the International Sailing Federation.- Sailing career :...
accused Layton and his allies of costing Toronto the event. Despite this, October polls showed Layton only four points behind Rowlands, with 36% support. However on October 17, Fish, a former provincial Tory cabinet minister who had only 19% support, pulled out of the race, and many of her supporters moved to Rowlands. Layton lost the November 12 election by a considerable margin. However, in the same election Olivia Chow easily won a seat on City Council.
Layton returned to academia and founded the Green Catalyst Group Inc., an environmental consulting business. In 1993, he ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of
RosedaleToronto Centre is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto , Toronto Centre , Rosedale and Toronto Centre—Rosedale .Toronto Centre covers the heart of...
for the NDP, but finished fourth in the generally Liberal riding. In 1994, he returned to Metropolitan Toronto Council, succeeding Roger Hollander in the Don River ward, and he resumed his high profile role in local politics; following the "megacity" merger of
Metropolitan TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
into the current city of Toronto, he was again re-elected to Toronto City Council, serving alongside
Pam McConnellPam McConnell is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada for Ward 28 which is one of the two Toronto Centre wards.She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as a school board trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating for adult...
in a two-member ward. He remained on Toronto City Council until pursuing the leadership of the federal New Democrats. He also came to national attention as the leader of the
Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesThe Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...
. Federally, he ran again in the
1997 electionThe Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, but lost to incumbent
Dennis MillsDennis Joseph Mills is a Canadian businessman and former politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto-Danforth in the east-end of downtown Toronto. He now sits on the board of directors of Magna International....
by a wide margin. In June 1999, as chair of Toronto's environmental task force, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, he was instrumental in the preliminary phases of the
WindShareWindShare is a for-profit wind power co-operative that was officially launched in February 2002 in Toronto, Canada. It was created by the non-profit Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative which was incorporated in 1998...
wind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
cooperativeA cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
in Toronto through the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative.
Leader of the NDP
Layton was elected leader of the NDP at the
party's leadership conventionThe New Democratic Party leadership election of 2003 was held to replace New Democratic Party of Canada leader Alexa McDonough, after her retirement...
in
Toronto, on January 25, 2003The New Democratic Party leadership election of 2003 was held to replace New Democratic Party of Canada leader Alexa McDonough, after her retirement...
. Layton won on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote, defeating
Bill BlaikieWilliam Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...
,
Lorne NystromLorne Edmund Nystrom, PC a Canadian politician, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1993 when he lost his reelection bid. He returned to parliament in 1997 and served until 2004...
,
Joe Comartin and
Pierre DucassePierre Ducasse , a Canadian politician, is a prominent New Democratic Party activist.He grew up in Sept-Îles, Quebec, and studied at Université Laval...
. His campaign was focused on the need to reinvigorate the party, and was prominently endorsed by former NDP leader Ed Broadbent.
Layton did not seek election to the House of Commons by running in a by-election, as is the tradition among new party leaders without a seat. Instead, he waited until the 2004 federal election to contest the
ridingAn electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of
Toronto—DanforthToronto—Danforth is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto....
against Liberal Dennis Mills. With no seat in the House of Commons, he appointed the runner-up, longtime Winnipeg-area MP Bill Blaikie, as parliamentary leader. Although he had no parliamentary seat, Layton was noted for drawing considerable attention from the Canadian mass media. Much of his rhetoric involved attacking the policies of then Canadian
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Paul Martin as conservative, and arguing the ideology of the Liberal Party of Canada had shifted in a more right wing direction. Another focus of Layton's leadership was to focus the party's efforts on Quebec, one of the party's weaker provinces. One of his opponents in the leadership race,
Pierre DucassePierre Ducasse , a Canadian politician, is a prominent New Democratic Party activist.He grew up in Sept-Îles, Quebec, and studied at Université Laval...
, was the first
QuébécoisFrench Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
to run for leader of the NDP. After the race, Layton appointed Ducasse as his Quebec lieutenant and party spokesperson.
The result of Layton's efforts was a strong increase in the party's support. By the end of 2003, the party was polling higher than both the
Canadian AllianceThe Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
or the Progressive Conservatives and it was even suggested that the next election could see the NDP in place as
official oppositionIn Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
.
2004 election
During the
2004 Canadian federal electionThe Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, controversy erupted over Layton's accusation that Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin was responsible for the deaths of homeless people because he failed to provide funding for affordable housing. While rates of homelessness and homeless deaths increased during the eleven years of Liberal government, the link to Martin's decisions was indirect as affordable housing is a mainly provincial jurisdiction. Layton's charge was defended by some, including the
Ottawa CitizenThe Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
, but most attacked it as inaccurate and
negative campaigningNegative campaigning, also known more colloquially as "mudslinging", is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred policies...
. Moreover the controversy consumed the campaign, overshadowing policy announcements over the next week.
Further controversy followed as Layton suggested the removal of the
Clarity ActThe Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
, considered by some to be vital to keeping Quebec in Canada and by others as undemocratic, and promised to recognize any declaration of independence by Quebec after a referendum. This position was not part of the NDP's official party policy, leading some high-profile party members, such as NDP
House LeaderIn Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...
Bill Blaikie and former NDP leader
Alexa McDonoughAlexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980...
, to publicly indicate that they did not share Layton's views. His position on the Clarity Act was reversed in the 2006 election to one of support.
Layton also continued his effort to improve his party's standing in Quebec. The NDP ran French-language ads in the province and Layton, who spoke colloquial Québécois French, appeared in them. He advocated replacing the
first-past-the-postThe plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
system with
proportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. He threatened to use the NDP's clout in the event of a minority government. However, it was dismissed out of hand by the Liberal and
Bloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
leaders, as they tend to be favored by the first-past-the-post system, normally being allocated a greater proportion of seats than the proportion of votes cast for them. Historically, the NDP's popular vote does not translate into a proportional number of seats because of scattered support. This was most opposed by the Bloc Québécois, who usually had the lowest popular vote but nonetheless won many seats because their support was concentrated in Quebec. Despite these problems, Layton led the NDP to a 15% popular vote, its highest in 16 years. However, it only won 19 seats in the House of Commons, two less than the 21 won under Alexa McDonough in 1997, and far short of the 40 that Layton predicted on the eve of the election. However, some potential NDP voters may have voted Liberal to prevent a possible Conservative win. Olivia Chow and several other prominent Toronto NDP candidates lost tight races and Layton won his own seat against incumbent Liberal Dennis Mills by a much narrower margin than early polls indicated.
Liberal minority government
With the ruling Liberal Party being reduced to a minority government, revelations of the
sponsorship scandalThe sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
damaging its popularity to the point where both the Conservative Party and the
Bloc Québécois were pressing their advantage for a
snap electionA snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...
, the Prime Minister approached the NDP for its support. Layton demanded the cancellation of proposed
corporate taxMany countries impose corporate tax or company tax on the income or capital of some types of legal entities. A similar tax may be imposed at state or lower levels. The taxes may also be referred to as income tax or capital tax. Entities treated as partnerships are generally not taxed at the...
cuts and called for an increase in social spending. The ensuing compromise in the NDP's favour was protested by the other opposition parties who used it as a pretext to force a
non-confidence voteA motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
. On May 19, two such votes were defeated and Layton's amendments went on to be passed on its final reading vote on June 23. As a result of this political coup and his apparent civil behaviour in a spitefully raucous parliament, many political analysts noted that Layton gained increased credibility as an effective leader of an important party, becoming the major second choice leader in many political polls – for example, polling second in Quebec after
Gilles DuceppeGilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
, despite the low polls for his party as a whole in the province.
In mid-November 2005, when Liberal support dropped after the
Gomery CommissionThe Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
delivered its first report, Layton offered the Prime Minister several conditions in return for the NDP's continued support. When the Liberals turned him down, Layton announced he would introduce a motion requesting a February election. However, the Martin government refused to allow the election date to be decided by the opposition. A motion of non-confidence followed, moved by Stephen Harper and seconded by Layton, triggering the 2006 federal election.
Coalition attempt with the BQ and the Conservatives
On March 26, 2011, in response to Harper's allegations that a coalition is not a legitimate or principled way to form government, Duceppe stated that Harper had once tried to form a
coalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
with the Bloc and NDP. In 2004 Stephen Harper privately met with
Bloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
leader
Gilles DuceppeGilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
and
New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
leader Jack Layton in a Montreal hotel. The meeting that took place between the three party leaders happened 2 months before the federal election. On September 9, 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-
Governor GeneralThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Adrienne ClarksonAdrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
, stating,
On the same day the letter was written, the three party leaders held a joint press conference at which they expressed their intent to co-operate on changing parliamentary rules, and to request that the Governor General consult with them before deciding to call an election. At the news conference, Harper said "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. That's a criticism I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time now so this is an opportunity to start to change that." However, at the time, Harper and the two other opposition leaders denied trying to form a
coalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. Harper said, "This is not a coalition, but this is a co-operative effort."
One month later, on October 4,
Mike Duffy, now a Conservative senator (appointed by Harper), said "It is possible that you could change prime minister without having an election," and that some Conservatives wanted Harper as prime minister. The next day Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace
Paul MartinPaul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
with Harper as prime minister. Both Bloc and Conservative officials denied Layton's accusations.
2006 campaign
With a vote scheduled for
January 23, 2006The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, many New Democrats expected Layton to deliver substantially more seats than he did in 2004. They hoped the NDP would hold the balance of power in a new minority parliament, so that they could carry additional leverage in negotiating with the governing party. Mike Klander, the executive vice-president of the federal Liberals' Ontario wing, resigned after making posts on his blog comparing Chow to a
Chow ChowChow chow is a breed of dog that was developed in China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan , which literally means "puffy-lion dog".- Appearance :...
dog and calling her husband an "
assholeThe word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a term used pejoratively to describe the anus.-History:...
".
Through the course of the campaign, Layton attempted to cast himself as the sole remaining champion of
universal health careUniversal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
. Some opinion polls showed that Canadians found Layton the most appealing and charismatic of the leaders. Layton repeatedly insisted that "Canadians have a third choice", and urged Liberals to "lend us your vote". Some commentators and pundits mocked Layton for over-using these catchphrases instead of explaining the NDP platform.
The NDP's strategy had changed in that they were focusing their attacks on the Liberals rather than in 2004 where they criticized both the Liberals and Conservatives in equal measure prompting some criticism from Paul Martin.
Andrew CoyneJames Andrew Coyne is the national editor for Maclean's, a weekly national newsmagazine in Canada. Previously, he was a columnist with the National Post and an editor-in-chief of the University of Manitoba's newspaper, The Manitoban.-Background:Coyne was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Hope...
suggested that the NDP not only wanted to disassociate themselves from the scandal-ridden Liberals, but also because the Liberals were likely to receive credit for legislation achieved under the Liberal-NDP partnership. The NDP had also lost close races in the 2004 election due to the Liberals' strategic voting. Early in the campaign, NDP MP
Judy Wasylycia-LeisKlazina Judith "Judy" Wasylycia-Leis is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from September 22, 1997 to April 30, 2010...
had asked the
Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) to launch a criminal investigation into the leaking of the income trust announcement. The criminal probe seriously damaged the Liberal campaign and preventing them from making their key policy announcements, as well as bringing alleged Liberal corruption back into the spotlight.
Layton's campaign direction also caused a break between him and
Canadian Auto WorkersThe Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
union head
Buzz HargroveBasil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove, OC is the former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
over the issue of
strategic votingIn voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
. Hargrove preferred a Liberal minority government supported by the NDP and he had earlier criticized Layton for participating in the motion of non-confidence that brought down the Liberal government. Hargrove allied with the Liberals and publicly stated that he "did not like the campaign that Jack Layton was running", criticizing Layton for "spending too much time attacking the Liberals". During the final week of the campaign, knowing that last-minute strategic voting had cost the NDP seats in several close ridings during the 2004 election, Hargrove and Martin urged all progressive voters to unite behind the Liberal banner to stop a Conservative government.
Layton intensified his attacks on the Liberal scandals, pledging to use his minority clout to keep the Conservatives in check. Shortly after the election, the Ontario provincial branch of the NDP revoked Hargrove's party membership because he had violated the party's constitution by campaigning for other parties during an election campaign, though Layton disagreed with this. Hargrove retaliated by severing ties with the NDP at the annual CAW convention. The election increased the NDP's total seats to 29 seats, up from 18 MP before dissolution. Among the new NDP candidates elected was Olivia Chow, making the two only the second husband-and-wife team in Canadian Parliament history (
Gurmant GrewalGurmant Singh Grewal, is a Canadian politician and former Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, were the first married couple to serve in the Canadian House of Commons at the same time...
and
Nina GrewalNarinder Kaur Grewal, MP , is a Canadian politician of the Conservative Party. She was elected in the general election of June 2004 to represent the constituency of Fleetwood—Port Kells, British Columbia....
were the first husband-and-wife team in Canadian Parliament after the 2004 federal election). In the end, the NDP succeeded in increasing their parliamentary representation to 29 MPs, though they had significantly fewer seats than the Bloc Québécois (51) or the Opposition Liberals (103).
Conservative minority government
At the NDP's 22nd Convention, held on September 10, 2006, in
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Layton received a 92% approval rating in a leadership vote, tying former
Reform PartyThe Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
leader
Preston ManningErnest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
's record for this kind of voting. At the same convention, the NDP passed a motion calling for the return of
Canadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
from
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. On September 24, 2006, he met with
Afghan presidentAfghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to discuss the NDP position. After the meeting Layton stated that Canada's role should be focused on traditional
peacekeepingPeacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
and reconstruction rather than in a front line combat role currently taking place.
Layton and his caucus voted to support the new proposed rules for income trusts introduced by the
ConservativesThe Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
October 31, 2006. The short-term result of the tax policy announcement was a loss to Canadian investors of $20 billion, the largest ever loss attributed to a change in government policy. According to the Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors some 2.5 million Canadian investors were affected by the change in
income trustAn income trust is an investment that may hold equities, debt instruments, royalty interests or real properties. The trust can receive interest, royalty or lease payments from an operating entity carrying on a business, as well as dividends and a return of capital.The main attraction of income...
policy.
Layton threatened to move a motion of non-confidence against the government over the "
Clean Air ActA Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
" unless action was taken to improve the bill and its approach to environmental policy. Prime Minister Harper agreed to put an end to the Parliamentary logjam by sending the bill to a special legislative committee before second reading. He released his proposed changes to the "Clean Air Act" on November 19, 2006.
On June 3, 2008, Layton voted to implement a program which would "allow
conscientious objectorA conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s...to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations...to...remain in Canada..." Layton led the
NDPThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
to be instrumental in taking action on the peace issue of
Canada and Iraq War ResistersDuring the Iraq War, which began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there were United States military personnel who refused to participate, or continue to participate, in that specific war. Their refusal meant that they faced the possibility of punishment in the United States according to Article 85...
.
On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made it known that he had received private counsel from Layton on the matter of Indian residential schools and the apology to former students of the schools. Before delivering the apology, Harper thanked Layton.
2008 campaign
Layton started off the
2008 federal election campaignThe 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
with a speech similar to that of US presidential nominee
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Layton denied he was trying to draw comparisons with Obama, saying "I mean, I am a lot shorter than he is. He is a brilliant orator. I'm never going to claim to be that. But what I have noticed is that the key issues faced by the
American middle classThe American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...
, the
working peopleWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
of the U.S. and their concerns about their families' futures, are awfully similar to the issues that I hear in Canada." Layton said that he has also written to Obama and
Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
saying that the
North American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
had hurt working people in both countries "and those stories have to be told."
Layton, along with Prime Minister Harper and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, initially opposed the inclusion of
Green PartyThe Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
leader
Elizabeth MayElizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
in the leaders' televised debates. Layton initially said that he was following the rules of the broadcast consortium, while NDP spokesman
Brad LavigneBrad Lavigne is the national director of the New Democratic Party of Canada.Prior to this appointment in March 2009, Lavigne served as the party's director of communications following Jack Layton’s leadership victory in 2003....
confirmed that Layton had refused to attend if May was present, noting that May had endorsed Liberal leader
Stéphane DionStéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
for prime minister, and arguing that her inclusion would in effect give the Liberals two representatives at the debate. Rod Love, former chief of staff to
Ralph Klein, suggested that the Greens could potentially cut into the NDP's support. Layton's stance drew criticism from the
YWCAThe World YWCA is the umbrella organization of the global network of the YWCA, a movement of women working for social and economic change around the world. It advocates for young women’s leadership, peace, justice, human rights and sustainable development, both on a grassroots and global scale...
,
Judy RebickJudy Rebick , arrived in Toronto at age 9, and is a Canadian journalist, political activist, and feminist.-Career:...
, and members of his own party. Layton dropped his opposition to May's inclusion on September 10, 2008. "This whole issue of debating about the debate has become a distraction to the real debate that needs to happen", Layton said. "I have only one condition for this debate and that is that the prime minister is there."
In October 2008, Layton posted an online video message speaking out in favour of
net neutralityNetwork neutrality is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers' access to networks that participate in the Internet...
,
torrentPeer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
sites,
video-sharingA video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
sites, and
social-networkingA social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
sites. In a separate interview he said that increasing corporate control "is very, very dangerous and we have put the whole issue of net neutrality right into the heart of our campaign platform," and that the Internet is "a public tool for exchanging ideas and I particularly want to say that if we don’t fight to preserve it, we could lose it." In the end, the NDP gained 8 new seats, taking its tally to 37. This result still left the NDP as Canada's fourth party, behind the Bloc Québécois with 50. The NDP managed to retain
OutremontOutremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
, held by
Thomas MulcairThomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
, its only seat in the province.
Continued Conservative minority government
The
40th session of parliamentThe 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011, and was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008...
began on November 27, 2008, with a fiscal update by the Conservatives that outlined their agenda for the upcoming term. This included a temporary suspension of Federal employees' right to strike and a removal of monetary subsidies for political parties. All three opposition parties including the NDP stated that they could not support this position. Layton along with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe began negotiations to form a coalition that would replace the Conservatives as the government. The three opposition parties planned to table a motion of non-confidence in the House of Commons, and counted on the likelihood that the
Governor GeneralThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
,
Michaëlle JeanMichaëlle Jean is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation, from 2005 to 2010....
, would invite the coalition to govern instead of dissolving parliament and calling an election so soon after the last election.
On December 1, 2008, the three opposition leaders signed an accord that laid down the basis for an agreement on a coalition government. The proposed structure would be a coalition between the Liberals and the NDP, with the New Democrats getting six Cabinet positions. Both parties agreed to continue the coalition until June 30, 2011. The Bloc Québécois would not be formally part of the government but would provide support on confidence motions for 18 months.
Opposition to the proposed coalition developed in all provinces except Quebec. On December 4, 2008, the Governor General granted Prime Minister Harper's request to suspend parliament until January 26, 2009, at which time Harper had planned to introduce the budget. Dion had since been ousted from the leadership of the Liberals and his successor,
Michael IgnatieffMichael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
, had distanced himself from the coalition.
Layton remained committed to ousting the Harper government, pledging that the NDP would vote against the Conservative budget regardless of what it contained. Layton urged Ignatieff's Liberal Party to topple the Conservatives before the shelf life of the coalition expired; constitutional experts said that four months after the last election, if the government fell, the Governor General would likely grant the Prime Minister's request to dissolve parliament instead of inviting the coalition.
On January 28, 2009, the Liberals agreed to support the Conservative budget with an amendment, ending the possibility of the coalition, so Layton said "Today we have learned that you can't trust Mr. Ignatieff to oppose Mr. Harper. If you oppose Mr. Harper and you want a new government, I urge you to support the NDP."
In March 2009, the
NDPThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, under Layton's leadership, re-introduced a motion (first passed June 3, 2008) which, if implemented, would allow
conscientious objectors to the Iraq War to remain in CanadaDuring the Iraq War, which began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there were United States military personnel who refused to participate, or continue to participate, in that specific war. Their refusal meant that they faced the possibility of punishment in the United States according to Article 85...
. The motion again passed March 30, 2009, by 129–125, but it was non-binding. In a leadership review vote held at the NDP's August 2009 federal policy convention, 89.25% of delegates voted against holding a
leadership conventionIn Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
to replace Layton. In October 2009, Layton paired up with the
Stephen LewisStephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
Foundation to raise money for HIV/AIDS affected families in Africa. As part of the foundation's
A Dare to Remember campaign, Layton busked on a busy street corner.
Layton's son,
MikeMichael Layton is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Toronto City Council in the 2010 city council election to succeed Joe Pantalone in Ward 19.-Background:...
was elected to Toronto City Council in the
2010 city council electionFor information on the campaign for mayor see Toronto mayoral election, 2010The 2010 Toronto council election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect councillors to represent Toronto's 44 wards at Toronto City Council...
.
The Conservative government was defeated in a
no-confidence voteA motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
on March 25, 2011, with the motion gaining full support of all opposition parties including the New Democrats, after the government was found in
contempt of parliamentIn some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...
. This was the first occurrence in Commonwealth history of a government in the
WestminsterThe Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
parliamentary tradition losing the confidence of the House of Commons on the grounds of contempt of parliament. The no-confidence motion was carried with a vote of 156 in favour of the motion, and 145 against, thus resulting in the Prime Minister advising a dissolution of parliament and a federal election.
2011 campaign
The day after the successful passing of the motion, Layton started the NDP election campaign, first with a speech in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
followed later in the day by an event in
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
,
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. Questions about Layton's health due to a recent hip surgery were often directed to him during the campaign, with Layton insisting that he is healthy enough to lead. On March 29, 2011, the New Democrats presented their first real campaign promise, a proposal to cap credit card rates in order to reduce credit card debt.
Unlike the previous election, Layton stated he was in favour of
Green PartyThe Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
leader
Elizabeth MayElizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
speaking at the leaders debates, despite the fact that she was once again being discouraged by the Canadian media networks. The NDP also embarked upon the largest advertising campaign in its history, focusing on the Government's health care record. He also dedicated the federal election campaign to former
Saskatchewan PremierThe Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
Allan BlakeneyAllan Emrys Blakeney, PC, OC, SOM, QC, FRSC was the tenth Premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, and leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party .-Life and career:...
, who died about halfway through the campaign.
Despite entering the campaign with relatively low poll numbers, the NDP recovered and increased their support significantly after Layton's performance in the leaders debates. In the English-language debate, Layton criticized
Michael IgnatieffMichael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
's poor attendance record in the House of Commons, saying "You know, most Canadians, if they don’t show up for work, they don’t get a promotion!", Ignatieff was unable to respond effectively.
The NDP surge began in Quebec, with the NDP surprising many observers by surpassing the previously front-running Bloc in Quebec. In Canada overall, the NDP surged past the Liberals to take the second place behind the Conservatives; in Quebec, the NDP took first place. The NDP surge became the dominant narrative of the last week of the campaign, as other parties turned their attacks on the party and Layton.
On April 29, 2011, a retired police officer told the Sun News Network and the
Toronto SunThe Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
newspaper that in 1996, Layton had been found naked in a
massage parlourA massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours....
when police, looking for underage Asian hookers, raided the establishment. The police informed Layton of the potentially questionable use of the business and recommended that he avoid it in the future. No charges were filed. The
Sun later ran a follow-up piece, in which Toronto city councillor
Giorgio MammolitiGiorgio Mammoliti is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada for Ward 7 York West, representing one of the two York West wards. He is Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee and a member of the mayor's executive committee. Previously, he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...
criticized Layton. Layton has said there was no wrongdoing in the matter, saying that he simply "went for a massage at a community clinic" and did not return after the police advised him not to. He also referred to the release of the police report as a
smear campaignA smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
against him.
Bloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
leader
Gilles DuceppeGilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
has also dismissed the claim. A columnist for the
National PostThe National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
suggested that it was a Liberal insider that leaked the story, although a Liberal Party spokesman denied that they had anything to do with it.
A subsequent
Toronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
column stated that most contributors to online discussions agreed there was a smear campaign against Layton. As for political damage from this story, that same day's update of the Nanos Leadership Index, which assesses public opinion on the Canadian federal leaders' trustworthiness, competence and vision for Canada, Layton rose from 80% to 97%, surpassing Harper at 88% and Ignatieff at 39%. The polling company speculated this improvement is due to strong sympathy by the public for a political candidate they judged as being unfairly maligned. The
Toronto policeThe Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
launched an investigation into how official police notes were leaked to
Sun MediaSun Media Corporation is the owner of several widely read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of Sun News Network...
. Police notebooks are closely guarded and may contain unfounded and unproven allegations. On May 5, 2011, it was announced that no charges would be laid with regards to the leaked information.
Layton appeared on the
Radio-CanadaTélévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
talk show
Tout le monde en parleTout le monde en parle is a Quebec talk show hosted and co-produced by Guy A. Lepage, broadcast on Radio-Canada since 2004. It has been adapted from the French show of the same name, created and hosted by Thierry Ardisson.- Concept :...
on April 3, an appearance that was credited for improving his party's standing among Francophone voters, due to his informal Québécois French. The show is the most popular program in Quebec. He was also perceived to have performed well in the televised French-language party leaders' debate on April 13.
In the May 2, 2011, election, Layton led the NDP to 103 seats, more than double its previous high. This was also enough to make the NDP the Official Opposition in the Commons for the first time ever. The NDP gains were mainly due to a major surge in Quebec as the party won 59 of the province's 75 seats, dominating Montreal and sweeping
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and the Outaouais. The NDP had gone into the election with only one seat in Quebec, that of Mulcair, and had only held one other seat in the province in its entire history. Many of these gains came at the expense of the Bloc, which was reduced to a four-seat rump without official party status in Parliament.
Illness and death
On February 5, 2010, Layton announced that he had been diagnosed with
prostate cancerProstate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. He noted that his father
Robert LaytonRobert Edward John "Bob" Layton, PC was a Canadian politician.-Early career:Robert Layton was born in Montreal, the son of Norah Lestelle and former Quebec cabinet minister Gilbert Layton. He graduated from McGill University in 1947...
had suffered from the same type of cancer 17 years before and recovered from it. His wife,
Olivia ChowOlivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
, had battled
thyroid cancerThyroid neoplasm is a neoplasm or tumor of the thyroid. It can be a benign tumor such as thyroid adenoma, or it can be a malignant neoplasm , such as papillary, follicular, medullary or anaplastic thyroid cancer. Most patients are 25 to 65 years of age when first diagnosed; women are more affected...
a few years before. He vowed to beat the cancer and said it would not interrupt his duties as member of Parliament or as leader of the NDP.
Following the 2011 federal election, Layton led the party into the first month of the new session of Parliament, as well as attending the NDP Federal Convention in Vancouver. After Parliament rose for the summer, Layton announced on July 25, 2011 that he would be taking a temporary leave from his post to fight an unspecified, newly diagnosed cancer. He was hoping to return as leader of the NDP upon the resumption of the House of Commons on September 19, 2011. Layton recommended that NDP caucus chair
Nycole TurmelNycole Turmel, MP is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament. She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, representing the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer, and became interim leader of the New Democratic Party after leader Jack...
serve as interim leader during his leave of absence.
Layton died at 4:45 am
ETThe Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on August 22, 2011, at his home in
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.He was 61 years old.
Upon hearing the news, there was a "nationwide outpouring of grief," and the
Governor GeneralThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
,
David JohnstonDavid Lloyd Johnston is a Canadian academic, author and statesman who is the current Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation....
, Prime Minister
Stephen HarperStephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, NDP deputy leader
Libby DaviesLibby Davies is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party , representing the riding of Vancouver East in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2007, she was named Deputy Leader of the federal NDP, jointly with Thomas Mulcair.-Background:Davies was born in Aldershot, England and...
, and United States Ambassador to Canada
David JacobsonDavid Cary Jacobson is an American lawyer who is the current United States Ambassador to Canada.A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University Law Center, he spent much of his career working in the Chicago offices of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a major international law firm...
issued statements praising Layton and mourning his loss. Layton's family released an open letter, written by Layton two days before his death. In it, he expressed his wishes regarding the NDP's leadership in the event of his death, and addressed various segments of the Canadian population, concluding, "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 we'll change the world."
Layton was accorded a
state funeralState funerals in Canada are public events held to commemorate former governors general, prime ministers, members of the Cabinet who died in office, and, at the Cabinet's discretion, other eminent Canadians...
by the
Governor-General-in-CouncilThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, which took place between August 25 and 27, 2011, with the final memorial service at
Roy Thomson HallRoy Thomson Hall is a concert hall located at 60 Simcoe Street in Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Opened in 1982, its circular architectural design exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. It was designed by Canadian...
in Toronto. Only two opposition leaders have died while in office; the first, Sir
Wilfrid LaurierSir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
, had been a former prime minister, and so a state funeral was consistent with protocol. Layton is only the first opposition leader to die for whom a state funeral would not otherwise have been afforded, but Prime Minister Harper made the offer to Layton's widow who accepted. Layton was cremated following the funeral, with one portion of his ashes scattered on the
Toronto IslandsThe Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour...
, a second portion buried at
St. James CemeteryThe Anglican St. James Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Toronto still in operation. Opened in 1844 as the burial ground for St. James Cathedral. To date over 89,000 interments and 75,000 cremations have taken place at the cemetery. Recognizing the growing trend towards cremation throughout the...
in Toronto under a memorial marker and a third portion planted with a memorial tree at the Wyman United Church cemetery in
Hudson, QuebecHudson, Quebec, Canada, is a town with a population of 5,088 on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of downtown Montreal, many residents commute to work on the Island of Montreal.- Location and...
, where his father and maternal grandparents are buried.
Selected works
(revised and expanded edition of
Speaking Out: Ideas that Work For Canadians)
External links