On Jan. 25, the New Democratic Party got a new leader, and his name is Jack Layton. Although he had been named the front runner for many months, many predicted that Layton would not get enough votes to win the federal party leadership. Layton takes over for Alexa McDonough, who had announced that she was stepping down six months earlier.
The Toronto-based Layton has been an impassioned social advocate for more than 30 years. As a student leader, past president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, and a high profile city councillor, he has pursued policies aimed at improving Canada’s urban life and environment.
“I’m not known for whassling around,” he said when asked to comment about if he is going to stick by his goals set for the country.
“We need to get the message into the news. After the last debate we held 2000 people called us—that is unprecedented that so many would come forward,” said Layton.
Layton has been appearing in the media more and more, giving the spotlight to the NDP, a rarity in recent history.
“I think his glitz and ambition is just the right thing the NDP needs. Layton is quite a different image then the NDP has had before. He represents a big city and because of this he is a source of votes. Previous leaders have not attempted to do this. In the case of Bill Blaikie, his [style] is more of the traditional mode of the NDP,” said Paul Fox, a political science professor at U of T.
“Any new leadership has a certain mystery. This is an opportunity for new membership. Nationally, the NDP has grown 40 per cent, and in Ontario it has grown 100 per cent. It is refreshing that the party is in the spotlight. It is a key in making sure the NDP is the party to watch. It will only help propel new ideas, new outlets and new public attention. And we can definitely go places with that,” said Dan Minkin, co-chair of U of T’s NDP Club.
“Community building is a strong issue,” said Layton, adding “Community solutions are a way to achieve this, because they are the common goals of all Canadians. Everyone should be able to afford clinics. It should never be a question of whether you can pay or not. A lot of equal-access buildings have collapsed in recent years.”
“He has a lot of credibility on urban issues and a lot of social and community issues,” said Nelson Wiseman, a professor with the department of political science at U of T. Wiseman added that the NDP’s success relies heavily how the Liberals fare in the next election.
As for whether the NDP has made the right choice in picking their leader, observers say only time will tell. One week into office, Layton introduced controversial Vancouver MP Libby Davies as the party’s first female House Leader.
“We won’t really know if he’s a good choice until there is an election. Certain things that could be damaging to Layton could be his comments made about Iraq—how he said that nothing should lead Canadians to fight, or his comments made about the Middle East regarding the state of security in Israel. The NDP hasn’t faced an election in a while and the attention gained may only be a short boost,” said Sylvia Bashevkin, director of the Canadian studies programme.
“We are making serious changes in Ottawa right now. And we are looking at our youth to take a stand. A lot more out there are joining,” said Layton.
