VANCOUVER – Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton is being remembered by British Columbia and Yukon politicians as a tireless advocate for justice and equality who envisioned a better Canada for everyone.
Layton, 61, lost his battle with a second cancer Monday at his home in Toronto, just months after he led the New Democrats to Opposition status with 103 seats in the House of Commons.
Premier Christy Clark said Layton’s energy, dedication and intelligence have served Canadians since his days as a municipal politician.
“Mr. Layton inspired Canadians during his first battle with cancer and we were all behind him during his second courageous fight,” she said.
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Layton will always be remembered for his unfailing love of Canada and his dedication to its citizens.
“Collectively, Canadian hearts are breaking,” said the Saanich-Gulf Islands MP.
Provincial NDP Leader Adrian Dix said he met Layton in 1989.
“All of us have been inspired to see how politics can be better, how the goals that Jack set for the NDP and the country, both of equality and justice, that those goals can be achieved,” he said.
“We’ve now got an obligation to keep building on that extraordinary legacy.”
Dix said several people at an NDP youth event he attended Saturday told him they became interested in politics because of the way Layton connected with them in the last federal election campaign.
“That says everything about Jack’s commitment to making Canada a better place,” he said.
People loved Layton because he was genuine and spoke from his heart, said Vancouver East New Democrat MP Libby Davies.
“In today’s world, where people can feel, unfortunately, so cynical about politics and politicians, I feel that one of his legacies is that he helped change that. He brought a new kind of politics, he was engaged with people.”
Davies said she feels particularly sad for Layton’s wife, Olivia Chow, also a New Democrat MP.
“She’s a really strong person but it’s got to be tough, really tough,” Davies said through tears. “They did everything together.”
B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Cummins said he sat across the aisle from Layton in the House of Commons until he shifted to provincial politics in March.
“I was always impressed by his tenacity and his passion for his beliefs,” Cummins said.
“His wife Olivia Chow, the rest of the Layton family and his many friends are in our thoughts and prayers during this time of grieving.”
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, a former provincial New Democrat MLA, said Layton was widely respected for his strong leadership and sense of hope and optimism.
“I was fortunate to meet and work with Jack, first as an MLA and then as Mayor,” Robertson said.
“He battled cancer with incredible dignity and the spirit of his work will live on through the many people he inspired as a leader.”
Audrey McLaughlin, a former New Democrat MP in the Yukon, said she was shocked at how quickly the cancer took a toll on Layton, who announced last month that he was facing a second fight with an undisclosed type of cancer but that he’d be back to work in September.
“I think his greatest strength was his optimism,” said McLaughlin, who led the federal NDP from 1989 to 1995.
“He totally worked hard, and people saw that, I think, we all saw that and admired that,” said McLaughlin, who said she’d known Layton for more than 30 years, dating back to when he was a Toronto city councillor.
In a letter he wrote on Aug. 20, Layton said he wanted interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel, a rookie MP from Quebec, to continue leading the party until a permanent successor is elected.
He also thanked the tens of thousands of Canadians who sent him letters and cards in recent weeks.
“To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: Please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped,” he said. “You must not lose your own hope.”
Besides his wife, Layton is survived by his children Sarah and Michael Layton.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced. (The Canadian Press; CKRW)
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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