NDP leader Jack Layton diagnosed with prostate cancer

Jack Layton announced today that he has prostate cancer and that he will stay on as NDP leader.

Layton says he has already begun treatment. “It’s the same kind of prostate cancer that my father was diagnosed with 17 years ago,” says Layton. “Like my dad, I am a fighter. And I will beat this.”

Layton was elected NDP leader in 2003. Since that time, he has increased his party’s standing in the Commons to 34 seats. At the party’s policy convention in August 2009, delegates overwhelmingly voted against holding a leadership convention to replace Layton.

Twitter was flooded with well wishes for Layton. “Jack Layton” was a trending topic this afternoon, alongside “Super Bowl” and “Haiti.”

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