Swimming, biking, recycling and Pride

Tom Johnson remembers Jack Layton the swimmer.

“He was tough,” said Tom Johnson. “He was a guy who when he got the bit between his teeth and he wanted to do something, he could be pretty determined. I think that whole characteristic and personality trait that showed up in his political career was developed in his swimming career to a certain extent.

“The playing fields of Eton kind of thing. You learn those behaviours and you learn to persevere and you learn the tenacity and relentlessness you need to succeed. When you do a sport like swimming, you’re looking at a freakin’ black line most of the time but you’re workin’ inside your own head to try to work things out to make yourself better.”

Edward Keenan lists five ways Jack Layton changed Toronto.