Michael Layton (born November 26, 1980) is a Canadian politician who served on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

from 2010 until 2022. Layton most recently represented Ward 11 University—Rosedale. He was first elected in the 2010 municipal election in Ward 19 Trinity—Spadina. Layton did not run for re-election in 2022.

Early life and education

Michael Layton was born on November 16, 1980, to

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 To ...

and his first wife Sally Halford, and is the step-son of Layton's second wife, former NDP

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Trinity—Spadina Trinity—Spadina was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. It generally encompassed the western portion of Downtown Toronto. Its federal Member of Parliam ...

and city councillor

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (; born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian retired politician who was a federal New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) representing Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014. Chow ran in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, placin ...

. Layton has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and environmental management from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, where he was a member of the

Kappa Sigma Fraternity Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

, and a Master of Arts in environmental sciences from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. After graduating, he worked for

Environmental Defence Environmental Defence (formerly known as the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund) is a Canadian environmental organization, founded in 1984. Its areas of education and research include toxic chemicals, urban sprawl, oil sands, global warming, wa ...

, a national

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

eventually becoming deputy outreach director. He was also the coordinator for the Green Energy Act Alliance. He worked as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

at a restaurant on King Street West for six years.

Political career

In 2010, he ran as a candidate in Ward 19 to replace Joe Pantalone who retired to run for mayor. Layton won the election with more than double the vote total of his closest rival, Karen Sun. In 2011, Layton opposed spending cuts by Mayor Rob Ford. He worked to preserve a women's shelter and a community pool in Stanley Park. In 2011, Layton took issue with an advertisement for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. Layton claimed that it condoned domestic violence. The football team subsequently replaced the advertisement.Mean old Argos fold for Mike Layton
''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'', July 26, 2011. Layton was a critic of plans to build a casino resort in downtown Toronto in 2012. His motion opposing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commissions casino expansion plans passed 40–4 in the Toronto City Council. Working with residents in the

Liberty Village Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered to the north by King Street West, to the west by Dufferin Street, to the south by the Gardiner Expressway, to the east by Strachan Avenue, and to the northeast by the ...

neighbourhood in Toronto, Layton worked to try to get cheaper fares on the regional transit system

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...

to improve public transit in downtown Toronto. For the gold medal hockey game in the 2014 Winter Olympics, Layton gained passage of a motion to allow bars to open earlier to serve alcohol during the game. In March 2019, Layton has put forward a motion, which was seconded by Mike Colle, to study the idea of suing oil companies over climate change. Layton was highly critical of the clearing of the homeless encampment at

Lamport Stadium Allan A. Lamport Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on King Street West in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the practice facility for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. It is also partia ...

in 2021, referring to it as "extremely disappointing and disturbing" and stating "There is something fundamentally wrong with the use of violence or the threat of violence in order to further criminalize homelessness in our city" In July 2022, Layton announced he would not stand for re-election as ward 11 city councillor, citing family reasons.

Personal life

Layton married his wife Brett Tryon, a program coordinator for the charity

Environmental Defence Canada Environmental Defence (formerly known as the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund) is a Canadian environmental organization, founded in 1984. Its areas of education and research include toxic chemicals, urban sprawl, oil sands, global warming, wa ...

, on

Toronto Island The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

On August 26, 2012, near the location where Jack Layton and Olivia Chow were married in 1988. He is the great-great-great-nephew of

William Steeves William Henry Steeves (May 20, 1814 – December 9, 1873) was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation. Life and career Born and raised in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, William Henry Steeves was a descendant of Hein ...

, a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

. In the 2013 CBC Television film ''

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

'', he is portrayed by Conrad Sweatman as an adult and Mitchell Kummen as a child.

Election results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Mike 1980 births

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 ...

Living people People from North York Toronto city councillors University of Toronto alumni York University alumni