Layton to Undergo Hip Surgery

The NDP leader’s health could become a factor in the timing of the next election.

An NDP spokesperson said Jack Layton should be up on his feet by the end of the day despite being scheduled to undergo hip surgery midday Friday. Layton has been on crutches recently because of a hairline fracture in his hip, which has now developed into a full-blown fracture that needs immediate attention. Whether or not the NDP decides to support the Conservatives’ budget when it is tabled on March 22 will determine whether Canadians go to the polls this spring, and Layton’s communications director said he will definitely have fully recovered by then. This is the second health problem Layton has faced recently. He revealed last year he was battling prostate cancer.