Jack Layton
Layton was born in Hudson, Quebec (near Montreal) and studied at McGill and York Universities; he holds a Ph.D in political science from York. He has been an activist for over 30 years in a variety of causes, leading the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and writing several books, including "Homelessness: The making and unmaking of a crisis". He started the White Ribbon Campaign for men against violence against women.
He was elected leader of the NDP at the party's convention in Toronto, on January 25, 2003. Layton won on the first ballot, with 53.5% of the vote. Since he currently has no seat in the House of Commons, he delegated runner-up Bill Blaikie as parliamentary leader. He has indicated his intention to run in the next general election.
He is married to Toronto city councillor Olivia Chow.
