TORONTO – Surrounded by friends and relatives, NDP leader Jack Layton was “feeling optimistic” after casting his ballot Monday morning.
“The future of our country, a wonderful country, lies in the hands of Canadians and I think many of them will choose change and I think that’s a very exciting thing for Canada,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard and I think Canadians have come to the conclusion that they actually do have a choice in this election and that’s a very positive thing to break out of the old patterns and the old habits.”
Layton told reporters he received a call from popular former leader Ed Broadbent who is traveling back to Canada from Britain “to be here for the celebration.”
Broadbent, who still holds the record for the largest NDP caucus – 43 seats in 1988 – is reportedly “very excited” about the possibility that that seat total could be smashed after today’s vote.
The NDP has been soaring in public opinion polls like never before, ranked second nationally behind the Conservatives and first in Quebec ahead of the Bloc.
“I think we’re going to surprise people by how much we’ve grown,” he said, noting tens of thousands of volunteers are now on the ground working to get people to the polls.
“At the end of the day, every Canadian will be behind that little cardboard partition with a ballot in front of them and they have a choice to make and I’m excited about the possibilities.”
Layton walked to his home polling station in his wife Olivia Chow’s riding – Trinity-Spadina rather than Toronto-Danforth where he’s running – around 10 a.m. He was accompanied by Chow, their daughter Sarah, granddaughter Beatrice and mother-in-law Ho Sze.
The couple was also joined by nine-year-old area resident Sapphire Newman-Fogel as part of Equal Voice’s “take a girl to vote” campaign.
The party has been advocating for getting more women involved in politics and is fielding 123 female candidates – the most of any of the major parties.
It amounts to about 40 per cent of candidates but Layton has vowed to get that number up to 50 per cent.
After voting, Layton will head to the gym for his daily workout.
He’ll be watching the election results pour in with relatives at Toronto’s Intercontinental Hotel and will emerge again later this evening to speak about the results at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
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