origins:
- Grandson of a Union Nationale (Québec provincial, untraconservative 1950's) minister
- Son of a Federal conservative minister (1980's)
- Born in Montréal, lived most of his life in Toronto.
achievements:
- elected as counsillor for the municipal government in 1982, and served in that capacity for 18 years.
- championed gay rights, the homeless, environmental issues. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/marcus-gee/jack-layton-torontos-gift-to-canada/article2138203/
- "He was an early fighter for gay and lesbian rights. As chairman of the Board of Health in the late 1980s, he spearheaded the city’s battle against AIDS, pushing for condom distribution and better safe-sex education. He once auctioned off a pair of his own jeans to raise money to fight the disease."
- "He was a leader in aiding the city’s homeless, helping to persuade governments to commit more money for housing"
- "He was one of the first to seize on climate change as an urban issue and helped create the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, which used a small endowment from the sale of city lands to dole out grants and loans for energy-saving, pollution-cutting projects. His passion for greenery also led him to posts as chairman of the city’s environmental task force and its cycling committee." and he was a avid cyclist. Also, he was in the forefront of banning smoking in public places - his first viictim - smoking in elevators.
- One cause Layton started was the White Ribbon Campaign, a coalition of men vowing to end violence against women. The movement was started in response to the 1991 Montreal Massacre. Its first office was in the Layton home. The campaign is now active in more than 60 countries.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/08/23/layton-city-legacy-issues.html - Elected as leader of the NDP in 2003 and in each subsequent election, increased the NDP's representation at the federal level, including 35% of the seats in the current parliament.
In his last days he wrote a letter to Canadians. it concluded 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."