Ontario Premier Doug Ford, alongside a number of former and currently Toronto city councillors have expressed shock and concern over John Tory’s Friday resignation announcement
His decision to resign comes after he admitted to engaging in a relationship with a staffer at the office “in a way that did not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor and as a family man,” the mayor said during an abruptly held news conference Friday night
On Saturday morning, Ford thanked Tory, whom he referred to as a friend, for his “many years of public service” and wished him “nothing but the best in the days, weeks and months ahead”
John will be remembered as a dedicated and hard-working mayor who served as a steady leader during the most difficult days of the pandemic,” Ford said. “He united Toronto behind an optimistic vision for the future and I will miss working with him to see it come to life”
Paula Fletcher, councillor for Ward 14–Toronto Danforth, told CTV News’ Adrian Ghobrial she is “shocked” by Tory’s “terrible lapse of judgement,” after hearing the news of his affair
“It was a terrible lapse of judgement by the mayor during the pandemic and perhaps to have even decided to have run for a third term knowing that this affair had taken place,” she said
“But you know what, this is happened now, and hopefully we will have a by-election”
Councillor for Ward 32 — Scarborough North, Jamaal Myers, told CTV News while leaving city council late Friday night that he is “shocked”
“It’s just sad. I’m shocked — really sad for the mayor and really sad for his family,” Myers said. “Torontonians collectively are in shock”
Kristyn Wong-Tam, former city councillor for Ward 13 – Toronto Centre, said it was “no secret” that they had several political disagreements during their time in council
“Tonight I fully agree that he should resign,” Wong-Tam’s tweet reads. “His is not a simple, one-time lapse of judgement. Tory was her boss and this is an abuse of power”
On Saturday morning, former Ward 10 – Spadina—Fort York, Joe Mihevc, took to social media to urge the city to show compassion in the face of a potential byelection
“For the moment, it is time to feel the pain of the moment, to wish and pray that Mayor Tory and all involved work this through in a good way,” Mihevc wrote. “The time to consider the future politics of [Toronto] can wait a moment”
Jennifer Keesmaat, former city planner and Tory’s opponent in the mayoral race in the 2018 election, said on Twitter, “this is a lot to process,” and outlined her hopes that the next mayor will “kill the rebuilding of the Gardiner”
Gil Penalosa, who ran against Tory in the recent elections, took to Twitter to say it was “not just a serious error of judgement”
“He was her boss, it began before & ended after the campaign. As ‘secret’ as negotiating mayoral powers. Either would have changed the result of the election for mayor of Toronto. Fortunately, now Torontonians have a chance to elect better,” Penalosa tweeted
Under the City of Toronto Act, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie could now take over the job until a byelection can be held
She is likely to remain in the job for a period of months, as the City of Toronto Act requires that candidates be given a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 60 days to file their nomination papers after a byelection is formally declared
Election day would then come 45 days later
With files from CP24’s Chris Fox
Abby O’Brien, CTV News Toronto Multi-Platform Writer
Alex Arsenych, CTV News Toronto Multi-Platform Writer
