Jack Layton

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Jack Layton (2011)

John Gilbert "Jack" Layton PC (born July 18, 1950 in Montreal , Québec , † August 22, 2011 in Toronto , Ontario ) was a Canadian politician and professor of political science . The former city councilor and deputy mayor of Toronto was from January 2003 chairman of the social democratic New Democratic Party (NDP). From June 2004 until his death he was a member of the House of Commons and represented the constituency of Toronto-Danforth.

Family, job and local politics

Layton came from a traditional family of politicians. His great-great-uncle William Steeves was one of the fathers of the Confederation , his grandfather Gilbert Layton was a member of the Québec provincial government under Maurice Duplessis and his father Robert Layton was a member of the House of Commons and Mining Minister in the progressive-conservative federal government of Brian Mulroney in the 1980s .

Jack Layton grew up in Hudson , an English-speaking suburb of Montreal. He studied political science at McGill University in Montreal and at York University in Toronto, where he received his Master of Arts degree in 1971 . In 1984 he received a Ph.D. and then worked as a professor at Ryerson University . In the same year he divorced his first wife Sally Halford, whom he married when he was 19. Since 1988 he was married to Olivia Chow , who also sits in the lower house for the NDP.

In 1982 Layton was first elected to the Toronto City Council, where he soon established himself as a leading figure in the NDP faction. He spoke out vehemently against the SkyDome project, campaigned for the rights of AIDS sufferers and was a co-founder of the White Ribbon movement. He was also one of the opponents of Toronto's candidacy for the 1996 Olympic Games . In 1991 he ran for the office of mayor, but was defeated by the conservative opponent and gave up his seat on the city council. In 1994 he was re-elected to the city council and has been a member of it ever since. In 1993 and 1997 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. In 2001/02 he was President of the Canadian Community Association.

Chairman of the NDP

On January 25, 2003, Layton was elected the new chairman of the NDP at the Toronto party conference, succeeding Alexa McDonough . He did not run for a by-election for a seat in the House of Commons, as has been the tradition for party leaders who are not represented in parliament. Instead, he waited for the 2004 general election . On June 28, 2004 he was elected to the Toronto-Danforth constituency; the NDP was able to almost double its share of the vote, but achieved only a few seat wins.

The Liberal Party , which formed a minority government, was dependent on the support of the NDP. This enforced that planned tax breaks for companies were canceled and instead more money flowed into social programs. With the support of the NDP, the liberal government of Paul Martin survived two votes of no confidence in May 2005 . When the Liberals declined further concessions in November 2005, Layton withdrew his support. The subsequent vote of no confidence was successful and triggered the 2006 general election .

In the election on January 23, 2006, the NDP was able to increase its number of seats from 19 to 29. The Conservative Party of Stephen Harper was strongest, but missed the seat majority clearly. This allowed the NDP to continue to put pressure on the government and to enforce some of its demands, in particular stricter environmental legislation. At the party conference in September 2006, Layton was confirmed as chairman of the NDP with 92% of the vote. In the 2011 general election , Layton led the NDP to what was by far the best result in its history when it won 103 seats and became the second largest party.

Layton first announced publicly in February 2010 that he had prostate cancer and had sought treatment. On July 25, 2011, he temporarily resigned the party leadership after his doctors diagnosed a new tumor. Layton planned to resume chairmanship in September when the new parliamentary session began. He died on August 22, 2011 at his home in Toronto at the age of 61.

Works

Web links

Commons : Jack Layton  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jack Layton, 61, dies after struggle with cancer. CTV , August 22, 2011, accessed August 22, 2011 .
  2. ^ Jack Layton to take leave after new cancer found. CBC News, July 25, 2011, accessed August 22, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Jack Layton dies at 61. CBC News, August 22, 2011, accessed August 22, 2011 .
personal data
SURNAME Layton, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Layton, John Gilbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Montreal , Quebec
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 2011
Place of death Toronto , Ontario