Gilbert Layton (November 5, 1899 – May 29, 1961) was a Canadian politician and businessman in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada.

Background

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Layton, the son of Philip Edward David Layton and Alice Marion Gilbert, was a merchant and business executive in the family firm of Layton Brothers (founded 1887, now as

Layton Audio Layton or The Laytons may refer to: Places United States * Layton, Florida, a city * Layton, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Layton Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa * Layton, New Jersey, an unincorporated community * Layton, Pennsylvan ...

) from 1918 to 1932. His father was a

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

activist who led a campaign for

disability pension A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. North America An example of a disability pension is from a private or Public Pension Plan, or the Canada Pe ...

s in the 1930s. Gilbert married Norah Lestelle England (daughter of Arthur John England and Florence Louise Grimmett) on February 18, 1921.

Member of the legislature

Gilbert Layton was elected to Quebec's legislative assembly in the riding of

Montréal–Saint-Georges Montréal–Saint-Georges was a former provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. It was created for the 1912 election from parts of Montréal division no. 5 ...

in 1936 as a member of the '' Union Nationale'', a conservative party. He served as

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

in the government of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

until resigning in 1939 to protest the Quebec government's opposition to conscription in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He ran for re-election to the legislature as an independent candidate that year and was defeated.

Federal politics

In the 1945 federal election, he ran as an Independent Progressive Conservative for the

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

seat in the House of Commons of Canada, but was defeated. He placed fourth behind the Liberal victor, the official

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

candidate and the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe foll ...

(CCF) candidate.

Death

Layton died in Montreal and is buried at

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. T ...

Descendants

Gilbert Layton's son, Robert Layton, served as a federal Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in the 1980s. His grandson,

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

, was the leader of the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

from 2003 to 2011, and was Leader of the Official Opposition for a short time in 2011 until he died in office. His great-grandson is Toronto City Councillor

Mike Layton Michael Layton (born November 26, 1980) is a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council from 2010 until 2022. Layton most recently represented Ward 11 University—Rosedale. He was first elected in the 2010 municipal election in W ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Gilbert 1899 births 1961 deaths Businesspeople from Montreal Independent candidates in the 1945 Canadian federal election Gilbert Layton Politicians from Montreal Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery