He managed to smooth out his edgy persona during the election campaign and consistently scored well in leadership polls, with voters giving him high marks in the areas of principle, honesty. Layton added 10 more seats for his party in the election, and then again in , when the party's seat count rose to Throughout the election campaign, Layton opened every speech with the eyebrow-raising declaration that he was running to be prime minister. Longtime friend Peter Tabuns said at the time that Layton was never anything if not an optimist.
Those tough times were soon to come, when Layton was diagnosed in early with prostate cancer. Layton chose to push through it, taking to the hustings for the election campaign with the save fervour as ever.
He even suggested the illness gave him further motivation. You can either become despondent about it all. Or it kind of rejuvenates you, makes you focus on what's important," he said in an interview with Metro news.
The election began as a traditional two-horse race between the Conservatives and the Liberals, but at some point after the leaders' debate, Layton surged. Layton was suddenly no longer the third-place outsider; he was being embraced as the candidate of hope and change for those opposed to the Conservatives. Election Day brought what became known as the "orange crush": 31 per cent of the popular vote for the NDP, 59 seats in Quebec, as well as 44 other seats across the country -- the party's best showing ever.
Ahead of the campaign, many had said that with four elections already behind him, if the NDP didn't make big strides, this would likely be Layton's final federal election. In fact, it was Layton's last campaign. But not for the reason that anyone would have ever predicted. Layton, the beloved NDP leader, died Monday after a battle with cancer. Layton was 61 years old. Related Links Canadians remember Layton as state funeral planned. Canadians remember Layton as state funeral planned.
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Layton said the party executive would begin consulting with the NDP caucus to choose an interim leader until he returns to his duties. Layton, 61, who represents the Toronto-Danforth riding and has led the New Democrats since , was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late and went public with it in February He also underwent hip surgery earlier this year and used a cane during the recent federal election campaign.
He said doctors at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital found the new cancer last week after he suffered some stiffness and pain in the closing days of the most recent session of the House of Commons. My PSA levels remain virtually undetectable," Layton said.
So, on the advice of my doctors, I am going to focus on treatment and recovery. In a statement, Princess Margaret Hospital said its doctors have been treating Layton for prostate cancer since his diagnosis. Layton is now being treated for this cancer," the hospital said. Tributes and messages of support from Layton's adversaries in the House of Commons began pouring in shortly after his announcement. The prime minister offered his "heartfelt support" for Layton and his family and wished him a "successful recovery so he can return to his post.
Layton continues to show in his fight against cancer, a fight that more and more Canadians are winning," Harper said in a statement. Why, then, did so many headlines and social media messages spreading news of his passing Monday morning at age 61 announce that he had lost a battle with cancer?
Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in his statement about the opposition leader's death, noted that Mr. Layton "gave his fight against cancer everything he had," and that he "never backed down from any fight.
But to those touched directly by cancer, equating the illness with a war against the enemy, fighting an adversary, or suffering in order to survive can diminish understanding of the challenges and complexities faced by patients and their families.
Many oncologists and cancer patients have been pushing in recent years for a change in the well-meant, but often misguided words and phrases that have become ingrained in the cancer lexicon. The outpouring of emotion over Mr. A significant problem is that most of the common words and phrases we use to describe the experiences of people who have been diagnosed with cancer imply that personal will and self-control play a large part in determining who will live or die. To say Mr. Layton lost his fight implies he had a say over his fate.
Buckman said.
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