1. The son of a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, Jack Layton was raised in Hudson, Quebec.
87 Facts About Jack Layton
1. 2.
Jack Layton rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics, where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on the city and Metropolitan Toronto councils, championing many progressive causes.
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Jack Layton died on August 22,2011, after being diagnosed with cancer.
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Shortly before he died, Jack Layton had nominated Nycole Turmel as interim leader of the NDP and, consequently, of the Official Opposition.
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John Gilbert Jack Layton was born on July 18,1950 in Montreal, Quebec, to parents Doris Elizabeth, and Progressive Conservative MP Robert Jack Layton.
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Jack Layton was the maternal great-grandnephew of William Steeves, a Father of Confederation, and his grandfather, Gilbert Layton, had served as a minister without portfolio to the government of Quebec's Union Nationale under Premier Maurice Duplessis.
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Jack Layton was raised in Hudson, a largely Anglophone suburb of Montreal, where he served as the student council president of Hudson High School.
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That same year, Jack Layton graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in political science and economics, and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
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In 1970, Jack Layton joined the New Democratic Party, and would later cite his influence being from Tommy Douglas voicing opposition to the imposition of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis.
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Jack Layton moved to Toronto to attend York University, where he received his Master of Arts in political science in 1972; he would later receive his Doctor of Philosophy in political science here in 1983.
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In 1974, Jack Layton began his academic career as an educator at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, where he taught political science.
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Jack Layton spent time working at York and, from 1978 to 1994, worked at the University of Toronto as an adjunct professor.
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Jack Layton became a prominent activist for a variety of causes.
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Jack Layton wrote several books, including Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis and a book on general public policy, Speaking Out.
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Jack Layton was first elected to Toronto City Council during the 1982 municipal election, in a surprise upset against incumbent Gordon Chong as an underdog.
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Jack Layton quickly became one of the council's most outspoken members and a leading figure on the left.
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Jack Layton was one of the most vocal opponents of the massive SkyDome project, and an early advocate for rights for AIDS patients.
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In 1984, Jack Layton was fined for trespassing after distributing leaflets at the Toronto Eaton Centre during a strike by Eaton's employees, but the charge was later dismissed on free speech grounds.
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Jack Layton was one of the few opponents of Toronto's bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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In 1985, Jack Layton moved to the Metropolitan Toronto Council, in the first direct elections for members of that body.
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Jack Layton won comfortably against former high school teacher Lois MacMillan-Walker.
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Jack Layton has been a candidate for the federal New Democrats five times, first winning her seat the third time in a close race against Tony Ianno in the 2006 Canadian election, and re-elected in 2008 and 2011.
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Originally known for coming to council meetings in blue jeans with unkempt hair, Jack Layton worked to change his image to run for mayor in the 1991 civic election.
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Jack Layton started wearing contact lenses, abandoning his glasses, and traded in his blue jeans for suits.
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In February 1991, Jack Layton became the first official NDP candidate for the mayoralty, pitting him against centrist incumbent Art Eggleton.
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Right-wing support soon coalesced around former city councillor Rowlands, preventing the internal divisions Jack Layton needed to win office.
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Jack Layton was hurt by the growing unpopularity of the provincial NDP government of Bob Rae, and by his earlier opposition to Toronto's Olympic bid.
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In November 1991, Jack Layton co-founded the White Ribbon Campaign of men working to end male violence against women.
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Jack Layton returned to academia and founded the Green Catalyst Group Inc.
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Jack Layton remained on Toronto City Council until pursuing the leadership of the federal New Democrats.
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Jack Layton came to national attention as the leader of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
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Jack Layton was elected leader of the NDP at the party's leadership convention in Toronto, on January 25,2003.
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Jack Layton's campaign was focused on the need to reinvigorate the party, and was prominently endorsed by former NDP leader Ed Broadbent.
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Jack 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.
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The result of Jack Layton's efforts was a strong increase in the party's support.
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Jack Layton's charge was defended by some, including the Ottawa Citizen, but most attacked it as inaccurate and negative campaigning.
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Jack Layton continued his effort to improve his party's standing in Quebec.
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The NDP ran French-language ads in the province and Jack Layton, who spoke colloquial Quebecois French, appeared in them.
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Jack Layton threatened to use the NDP's clout in the event of a minority government.
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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 Jack Layton predicted on the eve of the election.
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Olivia Chow and several other prominent Toronto NDP candidates lost tight races and Jack Layton won his own seat against incumbent Liberal Dennis Mills by a much narrower margin than early polls indicated.
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Jack Layton demanded the cancellation of proposed corporate tax cuts and called for an increase in social spending.
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Jack Layton was working with the Liberal government, but determined he would have a better chance of electoral success by voting against the government and having an election.
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The next day Jack Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace Paul Martin with Harper as prime minister.
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Jack Layton repeatedly insisted that "Canadians have a third choice", and urged Liberals to "lend us your vote".
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Some commentators and pundits mocked Jack Layton for over-using these catchphrases instead of explaining the NDP platform.
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Hargrove preferred a Liberal minority government supported by the NDP and he had earlier criticized Jack Layton for participating in the motion of non-confidence that brought down the Liberal government.
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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".
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Jack Layton intensified his attacks on the Liberal scandals, pledging to use his minority clout to keep the Conservatives in check.
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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 Jack Layton disagreed with this.
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Jack Layton threatened to move a motion of non-confidence against the government over the "Clean Air Act" unless action was taken to improve the bill and its approach to environmental policy.
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Jack Layton released his proposed changes to the "Clean Air Act" on November 19,2006.
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Jack Layton started off the 2008 federal election campaign with a speech similar to that of US presidential nominee Barack Obama.
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Jack Layton's stance drew criticism from the YWCA, Judy Rebick, and members of his own party.
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Jack Layton dropped his opposition to May's inclusion on September 10,2008.
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In October 2008, Jack Layton posted an online video message speaking out in favour of net neutrality, torrent sites, video-sharing sites, and social-networking sites.
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Jack Layton remained committed to ousting the Harper government, pledging that the NDP would vote against the Conservative budget regardless of what it contained.
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Jack 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.
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In March 2009, the NDP, under Jack Layton's leadership, re-introduced a motion which, if implemented, would allow conscientious objectors to the Iraq War to remain in Canada.
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In early 2011, Jack Layton was featured in an episode of CBC Television's Make the Politician Work.
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The day after the successful passing of the motion, Jack Layton started the NDP election campaign, first with a speech in Ottawa followed later in the day by an event in Edmonton, Alberta.
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Jack Layton dedicated the federal election campaign to former Saskatchewan premier Allan Blakeney, who died about halfway through the campaign.
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The Globe and Mail described Jack Layton's attack as a "knock-out punch" while the Toronto Star stated it was the "pivot in the debate [that] was a turning point in the federal campaign".
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On February 4,2011, Jack Layton attended a rally against usage-based billing in Toronto with MPs Dan McTeague, Olivia Chow, Peggy Nash and others.
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Jack 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.
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Jack Layton referred to the release of the police report as a smear campaign against him.
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Jack Layton came from a political family: his maternal great-granduncle, William Steeves, was a Father of Confederation.
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Jack Layton's great-grandfather, Philip E Layton, was a blind piano salesman and activist who, in 1908, founded the Montreal Association for the Blind; in the 1930s, he campaigned for disability pensions.
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Jack Layton Pianos had been made in London, England, since 1837, and Philip had emigrated to Montreal at the age of 19.
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Philip's 1898 composition Dominion March was played at Jack Layton's lying in state.
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Jack Layton was raised as a member of the United Church of Canada, and was a member of Bloor Street United Church in Toronto.
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In 1969, at age 19, Jack Layton married his high school sweetheart Sally Halford, with whom he had two children: Mike, who served as a Toronto city councillor from 2010 to 2022, and Sarah, who works for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
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Layton first met Olivia Chow in 1985 during an auction at Village by the Grange, in which Jack was the auctioneer and Olivia was the interpreter for the Cantonese language observers.
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Jack Layton was invited to dinner at the home of Olivia's mother, where they played mahjong.
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Jack Layton was known for playing music and singing songs at party gatherings.
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Jack Layton just got people involved, just with his personality, not politics.
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Jack Layton was a keen Trekkie, having a custom Starfleet uniform made by a tailor.
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Jack Layton was famously photographed wearing his uniform at a Star Trek convention in 1991.
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On February 5,2010, Jack Layton announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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Jack Layton noted that his father Robert Layton had the same type of cancer 17 years before and recovered from it.
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Jack Layton vowed to beat the cancer, and said it would not interrupt his duties as member of Parliament or as leader of the NDP.
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Jack Layton was hoping to return as leader of the NDP upon the resumption of the House of Commons on September 19,2011.
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Jack Layton recommended that NDP caucus chair Nycole Turmel serve as interim leader during his leave of absence.
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Jack Layton's family released an open letter, written by Jack Layton two days before his death.
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Jack Layton was accorded a state funeral, which took place between August 25 and 27,2011, with the final memorial service at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
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Jack Layton was the second leader of the Official Opposition to die while in office; the first, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, had been a former prime minister, and had been given a state funeral under the protocol for prime ministers.
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Jack Layton was the first Official Opposition leader to die for whom a state funeral would not otherwise have been afforded, but Prime Minister Harper made the offer to Jack Layton's widow who accepted.