Dateline: 01/29/03
Jack Layton, a Toronto city councillor, won the NDP leadership vote on January 26, 2003 on the first ballot, clearly showing the NDP membership is eager for a change in direction. The NDP leadership was opened up when Alexa McDonough announced in the summer of 2002 that she planned to step down after seven years as leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada.
In the Canadian federal election in 2000, the NDP won only 13 seats, barely enough to hold on to official party status. Since then, the NDP has been going through a renewal phase, questioning what it stands for, its relationship with organized labour and how to attract new and young members to the party. Jack Layton won the leadership over two long-time members of parliament, Bill Blaikie and Lorne Nystrom, and does not plan to run for a seat in parliament until the next election, expected early in 2004. In the interim, veteran Winnipeg MP Bill Blaikie will serve as NDP House Leader.
Jack Layton says his top priority issues as leader of the NDP are: stopping a war with Iraq public health care improving the environment strengthening municipal infrastructure.
Jack Layton has also been vocal about election reform the need for a national housing program education
The New Democratic Party has a long tradition of social activism, and while the party was officially formed in 1961, from the joining of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and affiliated unions of the Canadian Labour Congress, the roots of the NDP go back to the socialist movement in Canada in the early 1900s.
The NDP has never formed a national government, but has had influence in minority government situations.
Traditionally the New Democratic Party supports a moderate form of socialism. favoring a mixed economy with a strong government role in providing jobs and services. The NDP has strongly supported social security programs, and advocates their expansion to areas such as a national daycare program. The NDP often serves as a voice for labour unions in Canada.
Jack Layton is a dynamic, issues-oriented politician with a flair for media attention. Layton is also fluently bilingual, which may help the NDP with their consistently dismal record in the province of Quebec. Although clearly identified with Toronto, and big-city central Canada, Layton's experience as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities gives him some sensitivity to issues facing smaller municipalities, and he may be able to strike a chord across the country. If nothing else, Jack Layton will likely shake the NDP out of its doldrums, and put pressure on both the Liberal Party and the Canadian Alliance as they position themselves for the next election.
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