RIP, Jack Layton, former Toronto councillor and present head of Canada’s New Democratic Party. He was as good a politician as Canada ever had, and better than anyone who’s been on any of the ballots I’ve been allowed to tick for many, many years. Layton died from cancer; he announced his prostate cancer diagnosis in February 2010, and stepped down in July. He was 61.
Layton died at his home in Toronto early on Monday surrounded by his wife and children, his family said in a statement.
His left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) surged to become the official opposition for the first time in May’s elections.
Jack Layton, Canadian opposition leader, dies aged 61
(Image: Jack Layton, Leaders Tour – Tournée du Chef – Jack Layton, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from mattjiggins’s photostream)