"We deeply regret to inform you that the Honourable Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, passed away at 4:45 a.m. today."
I heard that statement from Layton's family being read on the radio while driving to work Monday morning and felt a great sense of loss and sadness for a man I'd met only once in person, but whom I greatly respected. It seemed like Mother Nature must have also felt the loss because for the first time in weeks the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»sky turned a bleak grey and the clouds released a mournful deluge.
In the cut-throat business of politics, even a minor cold can be taken as a sign of weakness and an opportune time to attack, which is why I was always so impressed to see photos and videos of a charismatic Layton brandishing his cane like a staff or sword while campaigning following hip surgery in March just prior to the May federal election. An election that saw the NDP win an unprecedented 103 seats under Layton's helm as the party's federal leader. But just a few short months later a frail, yet stoic Layton announced in July he was fighting a second, visibly more aggressive bout of cancer in little over a year. The announcement came just one month after moving with his family into Stornoway as leader of the Official Opposition.
Former NDP premier Mike Harcourt told me Monday Layton is gone much too soon but his legacy will continue. That legacy, said Harcourt, paved the way for what he said would be a centre-left coalition of political parties to be formed prior to the next federal election in 2015.
"He had a very, very sharp mind and was a great orator in the sense of Tommy Douglas," said Harcourt, comparing Layton to the late politician who helped form the NDP in 1961 and pioneered universal health care in Canada.
Harcourt says the fact Layton was able to bring the NDP from a political party of limited appeal to one cutting a proud swath across Canada is profoundly important. On a personal note, Harcourt says Layton was a talented musician who played the piano and guitar and loved to sing.
"He was a wonderfully warm man," said Harcourt, who added he'll miss Layton's energy. "He was so exciting to be around, whether he was serious or joking. He had this great energy."
Libby Davies, NDP MP for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»East, spoke with me Monday morning from Newfoundland where she was attending a conference. The Davies who spoke to me that day sounded much more like a grieving friend than a politician offering a simple sound bite. Davies described herself as "devastated" to hear the news just hours earlier.
"I feel a tremendous sense of loss and grief," Davies said. "It's just hard to believe he won't be here anymore."
Davies says Layton was a familiar figure in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and she laughed as she remembered how difficult it would be to walk down the street accompanied by the affable politician.
"We couldn't get half a block," remembered Davies. "It was almost a sense of family, he was so approachable."
Which makes sense when you consider a recent poll. According to an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted prior to the May federal election, Layton was the political leader Canadians would most like to share a beer with. In Canada, there is no greater compliment.
So cheers to you, Jack.
Layton wrote a farewell letter to Canadians just days before he died, which ended with the advice: "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 all change the world." To read Layton's letter in full, see the online version of my column at vancourier.com.
Twitter: @sthomas10
