Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton (b. 1950, Montréal, Québec) is a former Toronto, Ontario city councillor and the current leader of Canada's New Democratic Party. On June 28, 2004 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of [[Toronto%97Danforth]].
Layton grew up in Hudson, Québec, and studied at McGill and York Universities; he holds a Ph.D. in political science from York. He has been an activist for over 30 years in a variety of causes and has written several books, including Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis and, more recently, a book of general public policy, Speaking Out. While on Toronto City Council he led the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
He is married to Hong Kong-born Toronto city councillor and fellow federal NDP candidate Olivia Chow.
Layton was elected leader of the NDP at the party's leadership convention in Toronto, on January 25, 2003. Layton won on the first ballot, with 53.5% of the vote. He was the first candidate for federal NDP leadership to win on the first ballot since the legendary Tommy Douglas. As he held no seat in the House of Commons, he delegated runner-up Bill Blaikie to act as parliamentary leader. Layton indicated that his intention was to run in the next general election in the riding of [[Toronto%97Danforth]] against Liberal Dennis Mills, who he lost to by a wide margin in the 1997 election, as opposed to running in a by-election after a fellow party member resigns, the traditional approach among new party leaders without a seat. He won the seat from Mills in the 2004 Canadian federal election.
Although he had no parliamentary seat, Layton was noted for trying to draw considerable attention from the Canadian mass media. Much of his rhetoric has involved attacking the policies of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin as fiscally conservative, and arguing the ideology of the Liberal Party of Canada is being shifted in to become more right wing.
Another contribution has been to increase the party's profile in Quebec, the province in which the NDP is the weakest. A native of the province, he has visited Quebec more times in the first year of his tenure than the previous leader, Alexa McDonough, did in her entire leadership, and has forged ties with various Quebec activist groups such as Montreal's Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU). One of his opponents in the leadership race, Pierre Ducasse, was the first Québécois to run for leader of the NDP; after the race, Layton appointed Ducasse his Quebec lieutenant and party spokesperson.
During the 2004 federal election, controversy erupted over Layton's accusation that Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin was responsible for the deaths of homeless people due to the lack of funding for affordable housing. While rates of homelessness and homeless deaths skyrocketed during the eleven years of Liberal government, the Liberals argued that funding for affordable housing was cut under the government of Brian Mulroney. Some defended the charge, or Layton's place to make it, while others rejected it as negative campaigning.
See also: Homelessness in Canada
Further controversy followed as Layton suggested the removal of the Clarity Act, a piece of Legislation considered by some to be vital to keeping Quebec in Canada, 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 Leader Bill Blaikie and former NDP leader Alexa McDonough, to publicly indicate that they did not share Layton's views.
Despite these problems Layton led the NDP to its best election result in 16 years. The party won over 15% of the vote and 19 seats in the Canadian House of Commons where they are expected to play an enhanced role due to the fact that the ruling Liberals have been reduced to a minority government.
Bibliography
- Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis ISBN 0140288880
- Speaking Out: Ideas that Work For Canadians ISBN 1552635775
| Preceded by: Alexa McDonough |
NDP leaders | Succeeded by: in office |
| Preceded by: Dennis Mills, Liberal |
Member of Parliament for [[Toronto%97Danforth]] | Succeeded by: (incumbent) |