Jack
Layton's last letter to Canadians
August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario
Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to
wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful,
inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have
lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving
this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which
I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our
interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the
New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new
leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our
program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live
their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t
gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies
have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be
optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to
cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I
have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things
together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New
Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and
the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There
will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause
is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and
determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice,
universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind.
Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the
four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next
government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been
privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were
always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from
you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you
in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands
of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless
teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of
Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic
decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal
government with something better was by working together in partnership with
progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision
then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision
right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have
elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be
doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us
all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better.
Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be
hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of
inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your
dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are
engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of
you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to
a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country
and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming
nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many
from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive
and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion
for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the
heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the
future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of
the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality,
justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that
shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer
better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s
environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these
things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there
are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can
actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats
will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an
impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the
alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country
by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
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.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
