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John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and Leader of the Official Opposition. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of Acting Mayor or Deputy Mayor of Toronto during his tenure as city councillor. He was the Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth from 2004 until his death. Son of a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, Layton was raised in Hudson, Quebec. He rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on city and Metropolitan Toronto councils, championing many progressive causes. In 1991, he ran for mayor, losing to June Rowlands. Returning to council, he rose to become head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2003, he was elected leader of the NDP on the first ballot of the convention. Under his leadership, support for the NDP increased in each election. The party's popular vote almost doubled in the 2004 election, which gave the NDP the balance of power in Paul Martin's minority government. In May 2005 the NDP supported the Liberal budget in exchange for major amendments, in what was promoted as Canada's "First NDP budget". In November of that year, Layton voted with other opposition parties to defeat the Liberal government over the findings of the Gomery Commission. The NDP saw further gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections, in which the party elected 29 and 37 MPs, respectively. In the 2011 election Layton led the NDP to the most successful result in the party's history, winning 103 seats—enough to form Canada's Official Opposition. Federal support for Layton and the NDP in the election was unprecedented, especially in the province of Quebec where the party won 59 out of 75 seats. Layton died on August 22, 2011, after being diagnosed with cancer. He was survived by his wife of 23 years and fellow Toronto MP Olivia Chow. Details of the type and spread of the cancer, and the exact cause of death, were not released to the public. Shortly before, he had named Nycole Turmel as interim leader of the New Democratic Party and, consequently, of the Official Opposition; Thomas Mulcair won the NDP leadership contest to replace Layton. ==Early life and education== John Gilbert "Jack" Layton was born in Montreal and raised in nearby Hudson, Quebec, a comfortable and largely Anglophone community.〔Wallace, James. "Man of the people: Jack Layton is a pragmatist waiting to be given a chance." ''Sudbury Star''. January 9, 2006, p. A8.〕 His parents were Doris Elizabeth (Steeves), a grand-niece of William Steeves, a Father of Confederation,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=William Henry Steeves )〕 and Progressive Conservative MP Robert Layton. He was elected student council president of his high school, Hudson High School, and his yearbook predicted that he would become a politician;〔Taber, Jane. "Outside House, Layton learns pecking order." ''The Globe and Mail''. February 1, 2003, p. A5.〕 he would later also credit Billy Bryans, who went on to become a prominent musician with the band The Parachute Club, for having played a role in his student council victory. He graduated from McGill University in 1970 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in political science and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1969–70, he was the Prime Minister of the Quebec Youth Parliament. Layton credited a professor at McGill, the political philosopher Charles Taylor, with being the primary influence in his decision to switch from a science degree to an arts degree. Moreover, it was on Taylor's advice that he pursued his doctorate in Toronto to study the work of University of Toronto political philosopher C. B. Macpherson. In what is perhaps Macpherson's most complete articulation of his political philosophy, a foreword he wrote for ''Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom,'' he explains that, "The idealist current holds that human society has the potential to achieve liberty when people work together to form a society in which equality means more than negative liberty, the absolute and protected right to run races against each other to determine winners. Idealists imagine a positive liberty that enables us to build together toward common objectives that fulfill and even surpass our individual goals."〔Meynell, Robert. ''Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom''. Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2011, xi – xii.〕 Upon reading ''Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom'', Layton came to understand himself as part of the intellectual tradition of Canadian Idealists. In 1970, the family moved to Toronto where Layton graduated the following year from York University with a Master of Arts in political science;〔 and later in 1983, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy in political science at York.〔O'Neil, Peter (January 24, 2003). "Can Layton succeed?", ''Sudbury Star'', p. A9.〕 In 1974, Layton became a professor at Ryerson Polytechincal Institute (now Ryerson University).〔"Grading the candidates: What are the educational qualifications of the candidates for mayor of Toronto?" ''Toronto Star'' September 29, 1991, p. A3.〕 Over the next decade, he taught at Ryerson, York, and University of Toronto. He also became a prominent activist for a variety of causes. He wrote several books, including ''Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis'' and a book on general public policy, ''Speaking Out''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jack Layton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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