New York Times coverage of NDP, Jack Layton

The New York Times:

Ottawa — When Canada’s government collapsed in March, setting in motion a federal election to be held Monday, the timing looked especially bleak for the New Democrats, the perennial third-place party.

Its leader, Jack Layton, was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Emergency hip surgery, unrelated to the cancer, has left him hobbling around campaign stops with a cane. And the less said about his mustache, which has become a national punch line, the better.

But to the surprise of most Canadians, including the New Democrats, all publicly available polls in Canada over the past week have shown the party leaping over the Liberals to become the second most popular party in Canada and quickly gaining strength. If the polls translate into votes, the New Democrats could end the hopes of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Conservative, to finally gain a majority in the House of Commons.

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