NDP Leader-2003-2011. Born John Gilbert Layton.∼Canadian social democratic politician and Leader of the Official Opposition. Jack Layton was the 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 federal 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. 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.

Following the 2011 federal election, Layton led the party into the first month of the new session of Parliament, as well as attending the NDP Federal Convention in Vancouver. After Parliament rose for the summer, Layton announced on July 25, 2011 that he would be taking a temporary leave from his post to fight an unspecified, newly diagnosed cancer. He was hoping to return as leader of the NDP upon the resumption of the House of Commons on September 19, 2011.
Layton died at 4:45 am ET on August 22, 2011, at his home in Toronto. He was 61 years old.

Upon hearing the news, there was a nationwide outpouring of grief, and the Governor General, David Johnston, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, NDP deputy leader Libby Davies, and United States Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson issued statements praising Layton and mourning his loss. Layton's family released an open letter, written by Layton two days before his death. In it, he expressed his wishes regarding the NDP's leadership in the event of his death, and addressed various segments of the Canadian population, concluding, "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."

Layton was accorded a state funeral by the Governor-General-in-Council, which took place between August 25 and 27, 2011, with the final memorial service at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Only two opposition leaders have died while in office; the first, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, had been a former prime minister, and so a state funeral was consistent with protocol. Layton is only the first opposition leader to die for whom a state funeral would not otherwise have been afforded, but Prime Minister Harper made the offer to Layton's widow who accepted. Layton was cremated following the funeral, with one portion of his ashes scattered on the Toronto Islands, a second portion buried at St. James Cemetery in Toronto under a memorial marker and a third portion planted with a memorial tree at the Wyman United Church cemetery in Hudson, Quebec, where his father and maternal grandparents are buried.