Canadian opposition leader Jack Layton has died at the age of 61. Layton headed the leftist New Democratic Party and oversaw its rise from the smallest bloc in the House of Commons to the second largest. Shortly after he died, his family released a final letter Layton wrote to the Canadian people. The letter concluded with this passage: “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”