Michael Robert Arthur Layton (born November 16) is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2026, and previously from 2010 to 2022. Layton represented Ward 19 Trinity—Spadina from 2010 to 2018 and its successor Ward 11 University—Rosedale from 2018 to 2022. He did not run for re-election 2022, becoming the chief sustainability officer at York University in March 2023. Layton was re-elected to his former city council seat in the 2026 Toronto municipal election.
Early life and education
Mike Layton at his campaign party with his father, Jack Layton.
Layton has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and environmental management from the University of Toronto, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, and a Master of Environmental Studies from York University. After graduating, he worked for Environmental Defence, a national environmentalcharity eventually becoming deputy outreach director. He was also the coordinator for the Green Energy Act Alliance. He worked as a bartender and manager at a restaurant on King Street West for six years.
Political career
Layton in 2014
In 2010, he ran as a candidate in Ward 19 to replace Joe Pantalone who retired to run for mayor. Layton won the election with more than double the vote total of his closest rival, Karen Sun.
Layton's official portrait in 2010
In 2011, Layton opposed spending cuts by Mayor Rob Ford. He worked to preserve a women's shelter and a community pool in Stanley Park.
In 2011, Layton took issue with an advertisement for the Toronto Argonauts. Layton claimed that it condoned domestic violence. The football team subsequently replaced the advertisement.
Layton was a critic of plans to build a casino resort in downtown Toronto in 2012. His motion opposing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commissions casino expansion plans passed 40–4 in the Toronto City Council.
Working with residents in the Liberty Village neighbourhood in Toronto, Layton worked to try to get cheaper fares on the regional transit system GO Transit to improve public transit in downtown Toronto.
For the gold medal hockey game in the 2014 Winter Olympics, Layton gained passage of a motion to allow bars to open earlier to serve alcohol during the game.
In March 2019, Layton has put forward a motion, which was seconded by Mike Colle, to study the idea of suing oil companies over climate change.
Layton was highly critical of the clearing of the homeless encampment at Lamport Stadium in 2021, referring to it as "extremely disappointing and disturbing" and stating "There is something fundamentally wrong with the use of violence or the threat of violence in order to further criminalize homelessness in our city." In July 2022, Layton announced he would not stand for re-election as ward 11 city councillor, citing family reasons.
The Toronto Star reported in July 2026 that Layton was mulling standing for the New Democratic Party in the 2026 Beaches—East York federal by-election, prompted by the resignation of Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith. However, at the end of July, he decide against running and the NDP appointed their candidate from the 2025 election, Shannon Devine. In August, Layton announced that he would seek his former city council seat in the 2026 municipal election.
Layton married his wife Brett Tryon, a program coordinator for the charity Environmental Defence Canada, on Toronto Island in August 2012, near the location where Jack Layton and Olivia Chow were married in 1988.
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