Jack Layton: NDP Leader Dies at 61

NDP Leader Jack Layton Dies of Cancer at 61

Jack Layton, who led the National Democratic Party (NDP) to opposition status in Canada's last election, has died at age 61.

Layton had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010, and stepped aside from NDP leadership duties after being diagnosed with a second type of cancer.

• Jack Layton Steps Aside from NDP Due to Cancer

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Official Opposition Leader Jack Layton

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uploaded by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

Tributes have poured in from Layton's supporters and opponents, as well as from the general public. Up until last week, reports suggested that Jack Layton was doing well, and he was scheduled to return to Parliament in September.

His personal popularity propelled the NDP into opposition status for the first time in the party's history, handing Michael Ignatieff's Liberals a series of stunning defeats.

Jack Layton's Last Words

Jack Layton's last words came in the form of a letterm whcih you can read in full via the link below. Layton signed off with, " “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

• Jack Layton's final words
  

Jack Layton is survived by his wife, NDP MP Olivia Chow, as well as two children.