• Jack Layton, dead at 61: The leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, Layton had temporarily stepped down in July for cancer treatment. He was widely credited with steering the NDP towards a less leftist platform than the party had typically stood for, its origins being heavily infused with labor interests. This strategy, arguments about ideology aside, gave the NDP a massive boost to its prominence and mainstream, middle-class appeal, and reaped major electoral gains. Best wishes to Jack Layton’s friends and family in such painful times — he will be well missed and well mourned. source

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