Jack Layton became the new leader of the federal NDP on Jan. 25, 2003. Although he had been labelled the front-runner for months, many observers predicted Layton would not get enough votes to win in the first round. He proved them wrong.

Layton replaced Alexa McDonough, who announced about six months earlier that she was stepping down. Advance voting began in early January, with the final ballots cast at the NDP national convention in Toronto.

Here is a list of the six candidates who were in the race to replace her:

Jack Layton is the Toronto City Councillor for Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth. Fresh out of university, Layton dove into the world of municipal politics and now he wants a seat in the House of Commons. A political writer and activist, he is outspoken on issues of violence, homelessness, affordable housing, climate change, and the environment. He is the former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and vice chair of Toronto Hydro. Layton is also the head of the Green Catalyst Group Inc., winner of a UN award for environmental design.

• July 18, 1950 - born in Montreal. He later was raised in Hudson, Quebec.
• 1970 - McGill University, BA Hons, Political Science and Economics.
• 1972 - York University, MA Political Science.
• 1974 - 1982 - Faculty Member in the Department of Politics and Public, Administration, Ryerson Polytechnic University.
• 1981-1982 - City Councillor, Ward 6, City of Toronto.
• 1984 - York University, Ph.D.
• 1984-1988 - Metro Councillor, Don River Ward, Metro Toronto.
• 1990 - Deputy Mayor, City of Toronto.
• 1991 - Founder and Principal, the Green Catalyst Group Inc.
• 1991 - Ran for Mayor of Toronto, finishing in second spot.
• 1994-1997 - Metro Councillor, Don River Ward, Metro Toronto.
• 1994 - 1997 - Visiting professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson Polytechnic Institute.
• 1997 - ran for Parliament in Broadview-Greenwood (now Toronto-Danforth) riding. He took 33 percent of the vote.
• 1997-City of Toronto Councillor, Toronto-Danforth (Ward 30).
• 2000 - published Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis.
• 2000 - named Environmental Professional of the Year, 2000, Association of Energy Engineers.

Layton is the founder and co-chair of the White Ribbon Campaign: men working to end men's violence against women, president of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, chair of the Toronto Board of Health, chair of the Economic Development and Planning Committee of Metro, and chair of Metropolitan Toronto's Planning and Transportation Committee. The federal Government has also appointed Layton to the Board of the Canadian Climate Protection Program.

Layton is married to Toronto City Councillor Olivia Chow. He has two children, Sarah, 25 and Mike, 22.

He is the third candidate to announce his intention to run for the leader of the NDP party of Canada.

Among Layton's list of supporters is former federal NDP leader, Ed Broadbent.

Bill Blaikie was born and grew up in Transcona, Manitoba. As a member of Parliament for over 20 years, Blaikie is well-known for his outspoken views on trade issues and medicare, as well as on fair taxes and the environment. He has a strong religious background, and is known as a soft-spoken voice in the often-theatrical House.

• 1973 - received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and religious studies from the University of Winnipeg
• 1977 - received a master of divinity degree from the Toronto School of Theology
• 1977 to 1979 - worked as director of a special outreach ministry of the United Church in the North End of Winnipeg.
• 1978 - ordained to the ministry of the United Church of Canada.
• 1979 - first elected to the House of Commons (re-elected six times). He has served as the NDP social policy and health critic, and as the NDP member on the Special Parliamentary Task Force on Federal Provincial Fiscal Arrangements.
• 1983 to 1984 - Chair of the federal NDP caucus.
• 1984 to 1987 - served as the NDP environment critic, serving on the Standing Committee on Environment and Forestry and the Special Committee on Acid Rain.
• 1985 to 1986 - chosen as vice-chair of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Reform of the House of Commons.
• 1987 to 1990 - served as the NDP external affairs critic, and on the Standing Committee on External Affairs and International Trade.
• 1988 - served on the Special Committee on the Peace Process in Central America.
• 1990 - led the NDP Campaign for Fair Taxes and was the NDP taxation policy critic, serving on the House Standing Committee on Finance.
• 1993 to 1996 - chair of the federal NDP caucus.
• 1995 - named NDP House leader.
• 1993 to 2001 - named NDP international trade critic.
• February 2001 - introduced a private member's bill that would ban cellphone use while driving.

He is the currently the NDP House leader and the critic on intergovernmental affairs, justice, the solicitor general, and parliamentary reform. Most recently, he is known for pressuring the Liberal party to focus on issues other than the Liberal conflict of interest scandals during the "Shawinigate" affair. He is also quite vocal on issues surrounding the Kyoto Accord on greenhouse gases.

Blaikie has the support of six NDP members of Parliament, as well as Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton.

Born in Stoney Point, Ont. Joe Comartin is the MP for Windsor-St. Clair, one of a small, select group of New Democrats in the House of Commons. He has been a lawyer for the CAW's Windsor office for more than a decade. Fluent in French, he is the NDP's environment critic and has been involved with improving social services, like low-income housing, in his riding.

Here is his background:

• 1968 - Received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor
• 1971 - Completed law school at the University of Windsor and was called to the bar in 1973.
• 1985 - Became a founding member and Chair of Windsor-Essex Community Homes, a resource group that works towards developing affordable housing.
• 1990 - Co-founded the CAW Development Group, which focused on establishing affordable housing, child care and medical services.
• 1995 - Named to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Casino Corporation.
• November 2000 - Is elected to the House of Commons becoming one of only three non-Liberals from Ontario.
• May 2001 - Was head of a fact-finding commission that examined if migrant workers in Leamington, Ont. were subjected to poor working conditions.

A proponent of environmental issues, Comartin has strong ties to social activists and unionists.

Pierre Ducasse, the associate president of the federal New Democratic Party has announced his candidacy for the party's leadership. Now 29, Ducasse first became a card-holding New Democrat at the age of 17, and he's been a champion of party development in Quebec since the early 1990s.

• August 18th, 1972 - born on the North Shore of Quebec and raised in the town of Sept-Iles. Attended CEGEP in Sept-Iles and Sainte-Foy and received a diploma in administration.
• 1990 to 1992 - associate president of the New Democratic Youth of Canada (NDYC)
• 1992 - enrolled at Laval University (Quebec City) He received a bachelor's (1995) and a master's (1998) degree in political science.
• 1995 to 1998 - did research work on subjects relating to literacy and basic training for working people. He was also active in the North Shore Forum on Social Development (1997).
• 1997 - ran for the NDP in the riding of Manicougan, gaining four per cent of the vote, the sixth best result for the NDP in Quebec.
• 1998 - became co-ordinator (director) of the Table nationale des Corporations de développement communautaire du Québec (TNCDC) (National Network of Community Development Corporations of Quebec). He also occupied various positions on the board of directors of other organizations: le Comité aviseur de l'action communautaire autonome (1998-2002), le Carrefour québécois de développement local (2000-2002) as well as le Chantier de l'économie sociale (2001-2002).
• September 2000 - nominated associate president of the federal NDP.
• November 2001 - at the Winnipeg Convention, he was elected with 83.5% of the vote.
• June 25, 2002 - announced candidacy in the race for leader of the federal NDP.

In his election platform, he proposes that the NDP change its name to the Social Democratic Party of Canada, and that the party unify across Canada, including Quebec. Instead of just positioning the party in opposition to other political agendas, he plans to present a new vision of the party that will lead it to success in the next federal election.

"To have the results you've never had, you must do what you have never done." - Pierre Ducasse.

Bev Meslo, the fourth person to announce her candidacy for the leadership of the federal NDP, vows to take the party to the left if she is elected. Her slogan, "Socialism and Feminism for a Change," reflects her campaign promise to concentrate on children, seniors, the working class and students. She vows to protect them from what she calls the attacks from the neo-liberal economic agenda.

Her background:

• 1948 – Born to a large working class family with socialist roots.
• 1960s and 1970s – Involved in social justice movements in the lower B.C. mainland.
• 1966 – Married at the age of 18.
• 1968 – Returned to school. She went on to get office management skills at the B.C. Institute of Technology.
• 1970's – Participated in many protests for pro-choice hospital boards, a review of divorce laws and accessible childcare. She also participated in the movement over labour codes, workers' compensation and universal health care.
• 1986 – Remarried and became a step-mom to three Aboriginal children.
• Late 1980s and early ’90s – Involved the Ontario Social Justice Network and the Algoma Social Justice Coalition.
• Late 1990s – Returned to B.C. to continue her studies in political science and sociology at UBC. She became involved in student politics, Students for Choice and the NDP Youth.

Today, Bev Meslo is a mother of six and a grandmother of 12, living in B.C. She is active in the Pro-Choice Action Network (PRO-CAN), serves as the B.C. co-representative to the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and is an active member of the NDP, both provincially and federally. Meslo serves as a member of the NDP Socialist Caucus Federal Coordinating Committee and she is the Socialist Caucus Candidate for federal NDP leader. She is also an active member and volunteer with the Committee of Progressive Electors (COPE) and the People's Opposition, as well as being a member of the Council of Canadians and the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Lorne Nystrom, the NDP critic for Finance and Democratic Reform, and the NDP's Deputy House Leader, has announced his candidacy for leadership of the party. This will be the third time that he will run for leader during his 29 years in parliament. An advocate of electoral change, Nystrom will test out the system for himself once again when the New Democrats go to the polls.

• 1946 - born near Wynard, Saskatchewan.
• 1968 - became the youngest Member of Parliament in Canada's history at 22 years old.
• 1975 - ran for the national leadership of the New Democratic Party.
• 1992 - appointed to the Privy Council.
• 1993 - 1997 - ran a consulting firm in Regina involved in the political development of newly democratized countries.
• 1995 - ran for the national leadership of the New Democratic Party for the second time.
• June 1997 - re-elected in the riding of Regina Qu'Appelle in Saskatchewan.
• November 2000 - re-elected in the Riding of Regina-Qu'Appelle in Saskatchewan.
• 2000 - released a book, Just Making Change, which simplifies complicated financial issues for the reading public.

Nystrom was educated at the University of Saskatchewan (Regina). He received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, as well as a teaching certificate.

He has chaired New Democratic Party task forces on Employment and Parliamentary Reform.

Nystrom has been re-elected eight times. His career in Parliament includes responsibilities as New Democratic Party Finance critic, as well as New Democratic Party critic for Employment, Food and Agriculture, Trade, Regional Development and the Constitution.

He is currently the NDP critic of economic policy, finance, banks, national revenue, public accounts, Crown corporations and electoral reform. Lorne Nystrom resides in Regina, Saskatchewan.