Leaders Of The Official Opposition Canada

"I stand for Canada and upon that issue of, Canadians before any other people in the world, I'm prepared to seek suffrage of my fellow men."

"The problem of unemployment has now ceased to be a local or provincial one, and it has assumed national proportions and it will be the duty of my Party to see that employment is provided for those of our people who are able to work... 1 will not permit this country with my voice or vote to ever baccate committed to the dole system."

"The time has come when I must speak to you with the utmost frankness about our national affairs, for your understanding of them is essential to your welfare. This is a critical hour in the history of our country. Momentous questions await your decision. Our future course must now be charted. There is one course, I believe with all my heart, which will lead us to security. It is for you to decide whether we will take it. I am confident that your decision will be the right one, when, with care and diligence, you have studied the facts. Then you will support the action which your judgment decrees to be imperative; you will strive for its success, for its success will determine the future of Canada."

"Therefore, now that the time has come, I am determined to try with all my strength to correct the working of the system in Canada so that present unemployment conditions may be put an end to. When I say I will correct the system, I mean that I will reform it, and when the system is reformed and in full operation again, there will be work for all. We then can do away with relief measures; we then can put behind us the danger of the dole. I am against the dole; it mocks our claim to progress. Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse. The dole is a condemnation, final and complete, of our economic system. If we cannot abolish the dole, we should abolish the system."

"For I am working, and working grimly, to one end only: to get results. And so, honest support from every quarter, from men and women of good will, of every party, race and creed, I hope for and heartily invite."

"There must be unity of purpose. There can be no success without it. I earnestly entreat you, be in no doubt upon that point. I am not. If I cannot have your wholehearted support, it is wrong for me to assume the terrible responsibility of leadership in these times. I am willing to go on, if you make it possible for me still to serve you. But if there is anyone better able to do so, I shall gladly make way for him. And it is your duty to yourselves to support him, and not me. Your country’s future is at stake. This is no time to indulge your personal prejudices or fancies. Carefully and calmly, look well into the situation, then pick the man and the policy best fitted to deal with it, and resolutely back that man and that policy. The nation should range itself behind them. In war you fought as one; fight now again as one, for the task ahead demands your war-time resolution and your war-time unity."

"We are living amidst conditions which are new and strange to us. Your prosperity demands changes in the old system, so that, in these new conditions, that old system may adequately serve you. The right time to bring about these changes has come. Further progress without them is improbable. To understand what changes and corrections should be made, you must first understand the facts of the present situation. To do that, you should have clearly in mind what has taken place in the past five years; the ways in which we have made progress, the ways in which we have not. To do that, to decide wisely, you must be in a position to judge those acts of government which have palliated your hardships, which have preserved intact our industrial and financial structure, and which have prepared the way for the reforms which must now take place."

"A sound partnership is founded on mutuality of interest. Good business is predicted upon reciprocal benefits. This is neither.... There is no true Canadian who would not gladly surrender some personal advantage to help the people of the parent state; Britain however neither needs nor asks for help like that. What she wants is what we want -- broader areas of trade developed through an alliance to which we each bring the powers which have made us what we are. She wants with us a greater empire of the future and for that we Canadians must build a greater Canada. I say now what I have said from youth, that the future of the Empire depends upon the upbuilding of Canada; it depends upon the development of the great resources of Canada. Any sacrifice that we may make of our position whereby we cease to be autonomous in the development of this great state is fraught with the gravest disaster not to us alone but to the Empire of which we form a part. What is good for one is good for both, and what is bad for one cannot avail the other."

"If there ever was an election conducted by a political party on the basis of wholesale and most unqualified promises and pledges to all classes and description, it was the Election through which we have just passed, and it is as a result of these promises and pledges that the Honourable gentlemen opposite are in office."

"First of all we must insist that the immigrant that comes here is willing to become a Canadian and is willing to assimilate our ways, he should be treated on equal grounds and it would be shameful to discriminate against such a person for reasons of their beliefs or the place of birth or origin. But it is the responsibility of that person to become a Canadian in all aspects of life, nothing else but a Canadian. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says that he is a Canadian, but tries to impose his customs and habits upon us, is not a Canadian. We have room for only one flag, the Canadian flag. There is room for only two languages here, English and French. And we have room for loyalty, but only one, loyalty to the Canadian people. We won’t accept anyone, I’m saying anyone, who will try to impose his religion or his customs on us."

"This was a leader who listened to all sides, perhaps too much."

"It was Prime Minister Laurier who said of Canada's differing components: "I want the marble to remain the marble; I want the granite to remain the granite; I want the oak to remain the oak." This has been the Canadian way. As a result, Canadians have helped to teach the world, as Governor-General Massey once said, that the "toleration of differences is the measure of civilization." Today, more than ever before, we need to apply that understanding to the whole range of world affairs. And to begin with, we must apply it to our dealings with one another."

"Jack Layton improved the tone of the debate in Parliament. He firmly believed we could have passionate disagreements without being disrespectful or disgraceful to each other. Let us all honour his memory by conducting the next session of Parliament in this spirit"

"Nycole Turmel is already doing a very good job, and watch out Stephen Harper.Our team is united behind Nycole Turmel and I have no doubt she'll do a very, very good job in the House of Commons."

"We have lost a great Canadian.We have lost a friend. But I know that when I look out at all of you I am looking at Jack Layton's legacy."

"Aujourd'hui, nous pleurons un grand Canadien, un grand leader. Il était pour plusieurs d'entre nous, sinon pour tous et toutes, un ami, un collègue avec qui nous partagions quotidiennement. Au nom de tous les néo-démocrates, je veux remercier tous les Canadiens pour leurs messages d'amour, leur message de sympathie pour Jack. Ceci, je dois vous le dire, nous aide à traverser ces moments difficiles et à continuer le combat pour créer un endroit meilleur où vivre"

"New Democrats will continue to propose ideas that put Canadians families first, and push for real action to ensure families aren't being left behind in this economy. The question we have for Stephen Harper and his Conservative caucus is: will they keep sitting back waiting around for the U.S. economy to rebound?"

"Jack Layton believed so much in the power of democracy and of this Parliament. I invite all honourable members in this House to join me in picking up this torch and making this an institution in which Canadians can be proud"

"Mr. Harper always has an approach that is divisive and we don't agree with that.Create an environment where people are talking to each other, where they are helping each other, instead of an environment where you create things that will go against the security of the people."

"We remember the Tommy Douglas quote Jack included in every email he sent: 'Courage my friends, 'tis never too late to build a better world'."

"We have to do it and we will do it. We represent Canadians but Canadians will be there for us too"

"We are mourning today a great Canadian and a great leader. He was a friend, he was a colleague for many of us, if not all of us."

"We promise we'll carry on."

"It is not on the table for the simple reason that the constitution is clear: it's one member, one vote."

"We must remain focused on the job of building our party. Jack showed us how we can do politics differently, how we can listen and respect other opinions and at the end of the day, remain united. And that's what we need to do today. We'll take difficult decisions but at the end of the day, we need to walk out of here and be united."

"We are not considering at all a prolongation or adding months or time to the mission in Libya."

"I have to say, on behalf of the NDP, from coast to coast, I want to thank all Canadians for their wishes and really, their love for Jack."

"I think it's very disappointing, I don't know that I have a lot to say but I do think Canadians will find this disappointing. I think Canadians expect that any political party that wants to govern the country be unequivocally committed to this country. I think that's the minimum Canadians expect."

"I'm honoured by the confidence the council has shown in me as well as my team and Jack Layton. I clearly have big shoes to fill, but I'm also fortunate to be standing on such a solid foundation. Jack Layton has spent eight years building this New Democrat movement for a better Canada, eight years building a team that is ready to tackle any circumstance with hope and optimism. That's exactly what you can expect from us in the coming weeks"

"Inevitably, we’ve fastened on those last memorable lines about hope, optimism and love. But the letter was, at its heart, a manifesto for social democracy. And if there was one word that might sum up Jack Layton’s unabashed, social democratic message, it would be “generosity.” He wanted, in the simplest and most visceral terms, a more generous Canada."

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

"It’s about saying, ‘Hi Olivia. How’s Beatrice doing?’ It’s about remembering each other and our loves and our lives together. Over the next few years, we won’t not be able to say, ‘Hi Jack. How’s Olivia doing?’ But you can say, ‘Hi Jack. How are we doing?’"

"If I've tried to bring anything to federal politics, it's the idea that hope and optimism should be at their heart; we can look after each other better than we do today."

"I've always favoured proposition over opposition. But we will oppose the government when it's off track.We'll support positive suggestions that we'll bring forward and support the government when it's making progress."

"(The lockout) makes no sense unless you put it in the context of a wider strategy, which is to somehow weaken Canadians' commitment to Canada Post so that ultimately, when the government gets out there to privatize it, they think they can get the public on their side"

"Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done."

"I remember a Stephen Harper once upon a time... You've become what you used to oppose... Mr. Harper, what happened to you? What changed?"

"This is a budget that does not protect the vulnerable, it doesn't protect the jobs of today and it doesn't create the jobs that we need for tomorrow."

"Most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion. … You missed 70 per cent of the votes."

"It's a privilege and it's an honour and Olivia and I are certainly looking forward to visiting this beautiful, historic building and being able to stay there during the session when we're here in Ottawa."

"I think we've come to where we are because of those positive ties and working together for working families. That's our priority and continues to be. It's been there since our founding and we've now achieved the best success we've ever had electorally. So I think you want to continue with what's working"

"Why has he closed the door on Canada Post? Here's a guy who says he was a terrific manager of the economy and all things economic yet he's shut down our postal service. It's certainly the wrong thing to do and it sends a very bad signal out to the working people that tromp up and down our sidewalks and deliver our mail … that he doesn't really respect the bargaining process."

"We have not made these choices lightly, Our decision was made in the full seriousness and clear knowledge of what is at stake."

"Mes amis, l’amour est cent fois meilleur que la haine. L’espoir est meilleur que la peur. L’optimisme est meilleur que le désespoir. Alors aimons, gardons espoir et restons optimistes. Et nous changerons le monde."

"This debate is coming down essentially to two visions — Mr. Harper's vision for Canada and my vision for Canada, and to a decision to be made by people disappointed by Mr. (Stephane) Dion"

"Twenty years ago, he co-founded an organization dedicated to eliminating men’s violence against women the White Ribbon Campaign. What started as a meeting has grown into a movement against violence spanning 60 countries. Not long ago, my dad offered the new executive director some advice that I’ll share with you now. He said, ‘Always have a dream that’s longer than a life-time. If faut toujours avoir des rêves qui dépassent la durée de la vie. Friends: be loving, be hopeful, be optimistic. Together we can build the world of our dreams.’ And as he always said, ‘Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done.’"

"He's put a lock on the door of the House of Commons and he refuses to face the people of Canada through their elected representatives"

"“That’s been a hashtag fail." And on the temptations stemming from a life of crime: "With the bling and everything that comes with it.""

"I believe that when Paul Martin cancelled affordable housing across this country it produced a dramatic rise in homelessness and deaths due to homelessness and I've always said I hold him responsible for that."

"Politics matters. Ideas matter. Democracy matters."