Canadian reader Bob sends the sad news that Jack Layton, leader of the NDP and the Canadian opposition, died this morning at age 61. Layton took a leave of absence last month to fight a cancer recurrence.
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PeakVT
Too bad he didn’t get to experience the new prominence of the NDP longer.
ppcli
I wasn’t a big supporter of Layton when he took over the NDP leadership but over the years I was completely won over. As were many Canadians. This is heartbreaking news.
Derf
As boring as Canadian politics are you couldn’t help but like Jack.
And partly because of Jack we got some interesting young politicans like this. Average age is mid 20’s.
theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-new-face-of-old-school-ndp-values/article2135904/
ruthellenbrosseau.ndp.ca/
They didn’t need millionaire backers or extremist views. So people like this being elected in the US is pretty much impossible.
RedKitten
Jack was such a strong lefty leader. Unashamed to be left-wing, passionate, articulate, ambitious as hell, and really great at inspiring young people to get involved in politics.
He will be missed.
And as well, I am now even more concerned with the state of our country. Jack was great at holding Harper’s feet to the fire and calling him to task for his actions. Without that strong, vocal lefty opposition, I worry about what Harper will be able to slip under the radar…
Svensker
I was shocked to see this news this morning. And what RedKitten and everyone else said. Very sad.
Derf
@RedKitten: The 3 parties are too busy arguing over who loves our gov’t run healthcare more.
In other words, we don’t have much to worry about compared to the polar opposite good vs evil stuff in the US. That is what you call a REAL political problem.
Mark
Jack was a great guy. The NDP had a lot to say, but unfortunately it didn’t have much of a voice with Alexa McDonough and none with Audrey McLaughlin. Jack Layton took the party back to kicking ass. He’ll be missed.
RedKitten
@Derf: It’s not as blatant or as vicious as in the U.S., true. But it’s more subtle. And I can just see Harper et al slowly and sneakily trimming away at things, and we won’t realize what he’s doing until it’s too late.
Look at the recent cuts at Environment Canada. You think that was non-political? Hardly. EC has been a thorn in Harper’s side since day one, due to his anti-environmentalist policies and viewpoints. Cut the knees out from under them, and quash any reports coming out that makes the administration look bad, and there you go.
Trabb's Boy
Agree with all the above. He’s been my MP, previously MPP since I moved to the Great White North almost 20 years ago, and while I disagreed with some of his strategic decisions as being more pro-party than pro-country, I have never doubted his sincerity and the incredible value of his charisma.
It means so much that Canada has a strong left-wing — that people with a national voice can say that we’re all in this together and that we all are better off if the poor are helped out of poverty. Jack was such a vital part of maintaining and expanding that voice, in a time when much of the world is lurching ever rightward. There is no one else in that party who can carry the torch so well.
I keep finding tears in my eyes this morning.
RedKitten
He wrote an open letter to Canadians before he died:
cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110822/110822_jack_layton_letter/20110822/?hub=CP24Home
Canuckistani Tom
He was a good man, and will be missed.
canuckistani
Very sad news. Who do we have to take his place?
Yutsano
I liked Jack. A lot. He took a party that was on its heels for much of its existence and ended the domination of Labour on the left. I have a nagging thought in my head that won’t go away though: did he know he was sick going into the last election?
Peter
I’ll miss him something fierce. He was a sight to see in the last election: A sixty year old cancer survivor who recently busted his hip, moving and campaigning with the energy of a man a third his age.
I’m glad he got to be opposition leader before he died. When he took hold of the NDP it was barely even a party, and now it’s the official opposition. That’s a hell of an accomplishment for one life time. God bless you, Jack Layton.
Jane2
Jack will be missed. I’m heartened to see that Brian Topp is the federal party President; he did an excellent job of advising the Premier of Saskatchewan, and will be invaluable in readying the NDP caucus for parliament and continuing to pressure Evil Steve.
ppcli
@RedKitten: Thanks for the link. The letter is wholly in character, and very moving.
Jane2
@RedKitten: A class act.
anthrosciguy
If you have to go, and rumor has it everyone does, to go out on as big a high as Jack did would be wonderful.
PeakVT
@Yutsano: Replacing a Prime Minister isn’t quite like replacing a President, if that’s what you are thinking. There’s no permanent understudy that can be placed on the ticket for reasons other than competency. Besides, the polling before election didn’t indicate the NDP was going to come in second, or even close to that.
RedKitten
Indeed. The American ambassador to Canada called him “A happy warrior”, and I think that fits perfectly. He was definitely a political animal, and a pragmatist (he wasn’t shy to cozy up to the Bloc if he felt it would help his party’s aims), but he always had the big picture in mind and really…his vision for Canada was the vision that I think a lot of us share, when we talk about what it is that makes our country special.
RedKitten
It’s hard to say who will take the reins and carry on his legacy. There are talks that his wife might, which could be really interesting. I just hope it’s someone as dogged and fearless as him. Alexa was good, but (as much as I like her personally) she didn’t have the same charisma or the same blatant adoration of country.
Let’s just bring in Rick Mercer and be done with it. He’d capture the east coast vote, anyway…
PIGL
@Yutsano: And what if he had known? He is the leader of a parliamentary party, not the pary itself.
Derf
@Yutsano: He must have. It happened too quick after and now he’s gone.
Beauzeaux
My spouse and I became Canadian citizens at the end of 2009 and cast our first votes on May 2 for the NDP. Jack Layton was the only professional politician that I’ve ever admired.
He was the NDP and now I worry about the party’s future. I mean, what an act to follow. Who can do it?
giltay
Jack was my MP. In the bleakness of the previous election, he offered a bit of hope. It took me some time to warm to him (he made a lot of his achievements while I was a little kid and not aware of them), but as leader of the NDP, he did an awful lot of hard work to get the party successful.
So I guess I’ve got a by-election coming up soon.
Canuckistani Tom
@Derf:
Not necessarily. Some cancers move fast. My grandfather took sick at Christmas and was dead by Easter.
ErinSiobhan
The man everyone thought would be the best prime minister, even when their political beliefs wouldn’t allow a vote for hm. He did a great job building the NDP during his tenure as leader and I was personally thrilled that the NDP thrashed the BQ in the last election, bringing Quebec back into federal politics. It’s a sad thing that he won’t be around to lead the Opposition and enjoy the victory he worked so hard to achieve. RIP Jack, you will be missed.
Comrade Mary
I’m gutted.
Steve Crickmore
Even without knowing who the new leader will emerge in the NDP, I feel the party´s popularity will decline with the lamentable loss of Layton? However, this might be the opportune time for the acting leader of the Liberals, Bob Rae, the former moderate NDP premier of Ontario to bruit the idea of merging the two parties. That is likely the only way, the center-left opposition can defeat the Tories, but the ‘Libs/New Dems’ would likely be favorites to win the national election, in four years time.