‘Guiding light’ shows us the way

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This article was published 23/08/2011 (5344 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — It was, friends and observers noted, vintage Jack Layton.

As Canadians from coast to coast Monday mourned the passing of the charismatic, 61-year-old NDP leader, he delivered one final message of encouragement to fellow cancer patients, his NDP caucus and to Canadians as a whole.

“My friends, love is better than anger,” wrote Layton. “Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

Written on Layton’s official parliamentary letterhead, the love letter to Canadians was released publicly Monday afternoon, just hours after Layton’s wife, MP Olivia Chow, and his children, Sarah and Michael, publicly announced his death.

He penned the letter Saturday during a four-hour visit with chief of staff Anne McGrath and party president Brian Topp where he gave instructions for how the party should go forward if he wasn’t able to return to Parliament.

Layton is credited with bringing the NDP from the brink of nothing to the doorstep of forming government, and the NDP’s surge in the polls in May was largely due to Layton’s personal popularity.

Winnipeg NDP MP Pat Martin said the biggest legacy Layton leaves behind is a well-organized party machine that will not only survive him but also move forward using the tools he created.

“He put in place the conditions to survive the loss of our guiding light,” said Martin. “The party is bigger than any leader because he personally designed it that way. It is our duty to carry on the vision.”

Martin said the May 2 election results may have been surprising but they were not a fluke. They were the culmination of a long-term plan and years of hard work by Layton. The only thing that surprised some was that it happened one election ahead of Layton’s schedule, said Martin.

“He thought it would be the next election.”

Layton took over the helm of the NDP in 2003 when the party had just 15 seats.

Eight years later, he led the party to official Opposition status for the first time in its history and the world appeared to be his for the taking.

Unfortunately, the cruel realities of life stepped in his way.

He spent the final month of his life out of the public eye, which for a man as public as Layton was telling about just how sick he really was. In 2010, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was lauded for his courage and tenacity as he barely missed a day at work while undergoing treatment. In March, he underwent hip surgery just weeks before the election began but was back in his seat in the House of Commons the same day he was released from hospital.

But in June, as he took his seat in the centre of the House of Commons and moved into the official Opposition residence of Stornoway in Ottawa, he began to show fatigue. He developed difficulty walking, and a new cancer diagnosis was delivered in July. On July 25 he held another press conference, this time to announce he was temporarily stepping down as NDP leader to deal with his health but he planned to be back in time for the House of Commons fall session to begin Sept. 19.

It was not to be.

Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton said Layton’s death was a “pretty big shock.” She said she was always grateful Layton took her seriously, even as a 20-something candidate trying to become an MP. And she said he also cared deeply, travelling to northern communities to see first-hand the poverty and Third World conditions people live in on reserves.

Similar tributes poured forth all day from colleagues, friends and even foes. Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke of their shared love for music and regretted they’d never made time to jam together like they had often talked about doing.

Flowers and messages of condolence were left by ordinary Canadians on the centennial flame on Parliament Hill, at Layton’s constituency office and the doorstep of his home in Toronto. Particularly poignant was a single can of Orange Crush soda tucked among the flowers on Parliament Hill, a pointer to the “Orange Crush” nickname given to the NDP surge in Quebec that saw the party explode from one to 59 seats in the province.

Layton was also remembered for his boisterous personality, and his pragmatism. He was, friends said, the same in private as he was in public — positive, friendly and energetic. He was fiercely proud of his family, toting out photos and stories of his granddaughter Beatrice at every turn.

“He touched a lot of people. Jack got this country’s attention,” said Martin. “He was the best prime minister Canada never had.”

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca