Thousands of people are expected to pay tribute to Jack Layton at Toronto City Hall, where the NDP leader will lie in repose before his state funeral on Saturday.
Dignitaries and invited guests are expected to begin arriving at city hall at 8 a.m. on Friday. The public can pay their respects and sign a book of condolences from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Well over 10,000 people paid tribute to Layton as he lay in state in Ottawa Wednesday and Thursday, and similar crowds are expected in the city where Layton lived for decades as an activist, councillor and MP.
Toronto residents' affection for Layton has been clear since his death, with tributes and well-wishers leaving flowers and mementoes at Layton's constituency office, his home, and at Toronto City Hall — where a single chalk message scrawled on the concrete wall of a raised walkway became a large-scale memorial, with hundreds of messages written in chalk.
Dozens of people, many ringing bells or honking the horns on their bicycles, were on hand as the hearse arrived at Toronto City Hall late Thursday. They broke into spontaneous applause and cheered and the motorcade slowed to a halt, and again when a Toronto police honour guard carried Layton's coffin into city hall.
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| The public and will have a chance to pay their respects to Jack Layton at Toronto City Hall before his state funeral this coming Saturday. |
Amid the applause some were heard shouting "we love you, Jack," and "welcome home."The city's CN Tower will be lit in orange from sundown Saturday until sunrise Sunday in honour of the late NDP leader.
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