NDP Leader Jack Layton was fluently bilingual, glib, sometimes flashy, full of energy and always media-friendly. From a political family, Jack Layton was a left-wing Toronto city councillor for 17 years and spent a year as head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. He became leader of the federal New Democratic Party in 2003, and in his first election as leader the NDP won 20 seats. In the 2008 election the NDP was up to 37 seats.
Things changed in the 2011 federal election when a surge in polls in Quebec held and the NDP won 103 seats, 59 of them in Quebec. The NDP became the Official Opposition for the first time in history.
In July 2011, Jack Layton faced an even bigger challenge. He announced that he had been diagnosed with a new form of cancer, and would step down as NDP Leader temporarily to get treatment. He hoped to be back on the job when the House resumed in September and recommended that Nycole Turmel fill in for him.
Jack Layton died on Monday, August 22 at his home in Toronto. Before he died, he wrote a letter to all Canadians.
No comments:
Post a Comment