Layton, Jack (John Gilbert Layton), 1950–2011, Canadian political leader, grad. McGill Univ. (B.A., 1970), York Univ. (M.A., 1971; Ph.D., 1983). A social democrat from a political family, he served on the Toronto city council (1982–2003) and ran (1991) unsuccessfully for mayor. Layton also taught (1974–97) at Ryerson Polytehnic, York Univ., and the Univ. of Toronto. He first won a parliamentary seat in 2004, having previously lost twice (1993, 1997) and become (2003) leader of the New Democratic party (NDP). In 2011 Layton led the NDP to its largest parliamentary win to date, and became official leader of the opposition, but he stepped down as leader two months later for health reasons. He wrote Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis (2000) and Speaking Out: Ideas That Work for Canadians (2004).
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