Voters cast ballots to select Layton’s successor in Toronto-Danforth

Five days before someone will succeed Jack Layton as NDP leader, voters in Mr. Layton’s old riding will decide who will take his seat in Parliament.

There are 11 candidates vying to represent the intensely urban and traditionally left-leaning riding of Toronto-Danforth. But it has passed back and forth between the Liberals and New Democrats since it was created in 1979 and no one expects this election to break that pattern.

Polls conducted in the weeks before voting day suggested Craig Scott, the NDP candidate, had a lead that was almost insurmountable. But Grant Gordon, the Liberal candidate, insists he has come on strong and that he has a chance of prevailing.

In fact, the Liberals have invested much political capital in this race. Interim Leader Bob Rae, who actually held the riding for the New Democrats when he was an MP in the late ’70s and early ’80s, was campaigning with Mr. Gordon on Monday.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/voters-cast-ballots-to-select-laytons-successor-in-toronto-danforth/article2374256/