Remembering Jack at his Toronto funeral

State funeral for NDP Leader Jack Layton, Saturday 2 pm, Roy Thomson Hall / David Pecault Square

A procession will take Layton’s casket from Toronto City Hall to Roy Thomson Hall sometime after 11 a.m. Saturday. The funeral at Roy Thomson Hall will commence at 2 p.m. About 800 seats inside the hall will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Video screens will be set up in David Pecault Square, to the west of Roy Thomson Hall, for overflow crowds.

Expected guests

A total of 1,700 seats in the hall are reserved for membes of Layton’s family (including his wife Olivia Chow, children Mike and Sarah and their partners, granddaughter Beatrice and other close relations), MPs, premiers and former NDP premiers, other politicians and invited guests. Some of the guests include:

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae
Interim Bloc Québécois leader Louis Plamondon
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May
Former Liberal leaders Michael Ignatieff and Stephane Dion
Former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe
Former prime ministers Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien
Former NDP leaders Alexa McDonough and Ed Broadbent


The service

Several individuals are expected to give eulogies, including Stephen Lewis, the former Ontario NDP leader famous for his activism on social justice issues, and Layton’s children, Michael and Sarah.

McDonough, Broadbent and Doer are among those expected to be pallbearers.


From what I've been able to glean from the web and other media, Saturday's funeral for Opposition Leader Jack Layton will be filled with music and poignant memories. Some highlights are sure to include:

Eulogy - To be delivered by Stephen Lewis

Officiant - Pastor Reverend Dr. Brent Hawkes will deliver a couple of specific messages Jack wanted to be read at his funeral.



Rise Up - Parachute Club singer / writer Lorraine Segato will sing her anthemic tune.




Hallelujah - Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies will perform this haunting, melancholy, yet uplifting song.





Quebecois singer Martin Deschamps met Layton several times and is planning on traveling from Montreal to Toronto to perform at Roy Thomson Hall.



The service is intended to be religiously and politically inclusive, and will have readings from Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other traditions.






On Saturday night the CN Tower will glow with orange light in honour of Jack Layton and his affiliation with the NDP (whose main colour is orange), a really kind gesture and symbolic of Toronto's love for this passionate, thoughtful man.