Star-studded event to mark 10th anniversary of Jack Layton’s death

By: The Canadian Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

TORONTO - Family and friends of former federal NDP leader Jack Layton will host a virtual event next month to mark the 10th anniversary of his death.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2021 (1878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Family and friends of former federal NDP leader Jack Layton will host a virtual event next month to mark the 10th anniversary of his death.

The lineup — announced Sunday, on what would have been his 71st birthday — includes Steven Page, William Prince, Donovan Woods, Raffi, Rupi Kaur, David Suzuki, Sarah Harmer and Tim Baker.

The Aug. 22 event is part of the Layton Legacy project, which aims to bring people together and support social justice and reconciliation activism while celebrating the late politician’s message of love, hope and optimism.

A portrait of the late NDP Leader Jack Layton sits in flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Toronto City Hall on August 26, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
A portrait of the late NDP Leader Jack Layton sits in flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Toronto City Hall on August 26, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The project was launched in June with an announcement revealing that applications had opened for a new academic scholarship and two new awards to be given out in Layton’s name.

Layton led the NDP to its best showing ever in the 2011 federal election, sweeping Quebec to vault the party from its perennial third- or fourth-place finish into official Opposition status.

Just a little over three months after that historic electoral breakthrough, Layton, who had previously battled prostate cancer, died after being diagnosed with a new cancer.

His son, Toronto city councillor Mike Layton, announced the lineup Sunday while visiting a statue to the late politician.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2021.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version erroneously reported the event will be held on what would have been Jack Layton’s 71st birthday. In fact, the event will be held on the 10th anniversary of his death, but was announced on what would have been his 71st birthday.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

FREE PRESS FILES Cousins and sisters make their way into Lord Nelson School. Most Manitoba students will return to class this week. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ENT - back to school Place: Lord Nelson School A group of cousins/sisters ages 7yrs - 11yrs make their way into Lord Nelson School. The students attended the school a week before classes to register with their parents. Names of kids: From left - Chloe Lachica, Tiffany Pigao, Rhianna Lachica and Trixie Pigao (stripes). NOTE; These photos were not assigned. They’re extra shots I found while at the school photographing the grade one teacher for Eva’s story. But, they can be used with the back-to-school feature by Eva Wasney. Eva Wasney story. Aug 26th 2019

The first day of school is a promise

ann Evangelista 6 minute read Preview

The first day of school is a promise

ann Evangelista 6 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

This week, thousands of Manitoba students will walk through school doors carrying backpacks filled with new supplies, new hopes and, for some, new worries.

For parents and caregivers, this may be a familiar September routine — shopping for school supplies, adjusting schedules, preparing lunches and getting children ready for another year of learning.

For educators and school staff, it is the beginning of another demanding year.

But for Manitoba, this week should mean something more. It should be a renewal of our promise to every child.

Read
2:00 AM CDT
NICOLE BUFFIE / FREE PRESS Lab workers at Dynacare on Regent Avenue were turning patients away Saturday morning as hundreds of people scrambled to get bloodwork done before a planned strike on Tuesday.

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Patients were being turned away from several Dynacare locations Saturday morning as people packed the labs in hopes of getting their blood collection done before workers strike.

By 10:30 a.m. the lobby at the Dynacare at 1581 Regent Ave. was standing-room only and walk-up patients were being turned away as the wait time for those lucky enough to get in creeped past two hours.

One woman got in right before workers cut off walk-ins at 10 a.m. after travelling to two other locations.

“I was driving by at 7:15 this morning and there was already a line-up to the road, so I was like ‘nope, not going there’ so I went to the one on Sterling Lyon (Parkway) and it was closed, and then I went to the one at St. Vital Mall and there had a line zig-zagging all the way through the corridors so I gave up and came back,” said Joanna, who declined to give her last name.

Read
Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Four teens dead in crash near Winnipeg Beach

1 minute read Yesterday at 4:52 PM CDT

Four teenagers have died in a highway crash near Winnipeg Beach.

Manitoba RCMP are investigating the two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 9:15 p.m. Sept. 6. A vehicle travelling west on Highway 229 was struck while crossing Highway 8, RCMP stated in a news release Monday.

Everyone inside the westbound vehicle died at the scene, including the driver, an 18-year-old female from Winnipeg, and three passengers: an 18-year-old male from Gimli, an 18-year-old female from Sandy Hook and a 17-year-old male from Ear Falls, Ont.

The intersection is controlled by stop signs for westbound and eastbound traffic. Both vehicles went into the southwest ditch, with one vehicle rolling and landing on its roof, RCMP stated.

A portrait of the late NDP Leader Jack Layton sits in flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Toronto City Hall on August 26, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Star-studded event planned to honour Jack Layton

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Star-studded event planned to honour Jack Layton

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Sunday, Jul. 18, 2021

A collection of breaking news briefs filed on July 23, 2021

• Jets select centre Chaz Lucius in 1st round

• Ottawa announces $25M for Prairie wetlands

• Firefighters, police rescue person who climbed crane in Exchange District

• Manitoba Moose announce 2021-22 schedule

• North Perimeter road work starts Monday

• Portage man dies in head on collision

• 41 new COVID-19 cases and 3 deaths in Manitoba Friday

• Man in hospital after Central Park stabbing

• Man arrested after wielding axe during assault

• RBC Convention Centre to accept walk-ins for COVID-19 vaccines

• Swan River RCMP officer's bone broken during concealed weapon arrest

• King Edward Street, Shaftesbury Boulevard to close temporarily

• Infrastructure funding announcement to come at 11 a.m.

Read
Sunday, Jul. 18, 2021

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

Fund full-day kindergarten for all

Catherine-Laura Dunnington and Molly McCracken 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Children entering kindergarten are starting school this fall. While the 2.5-hour kindergarten day commonly found in Manitoba schools sounds like a pleasant transition to the school system, in truth it remains one of the biggest missing pieces of the child-care puzzle.

Province-wide, families face a stressful dilemma — if they are lucky enough to have child care, they have to leave work at lunch and shuttle a child from school to child care; if they don’t, they must reduce hours, or forgo working or education, because they don’t have child care for their kindergartener.

The Government of Manitoba has made progress on making child care more affordable and accessible. But we have largely left one enormous piece untouched — part-day kindergarten. Why is publicly funded education for kindergarten still only 2.5 hours a day? To date, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island have all implemented full-day, publicly funded kindergarten. The Manitoba School Boards Association passed a resolution in 2025 to implement full-day kindergarten programming, but the province has not provided sufficient funding to implement it province-wide.

There are currently 13,600 children in kindergarten in Manitoba. With a coverage rate for licensed child care of 32.3 per cent, roughly 5,000 families with kindergarteners lack access to licensed child care during the part of the day when their child is not in school. That is a precarious position to put any family in.