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1954 John Tory is born in Toronto, the son of prominent lawyer, corporate exec and longtime Rogers Communications board member John A. Tory, founder of law firm Tory, Tory, DesLauriers (now Torys LLP).
1972 Goes to work as a journalist for Rogers Broadcasting-owned radio stations CFTR and CHFI.
1978 Graduates from Osgoode Hall Law School.
1980 Called to the bar and joins father’s law firm as a managing partner.
1981 Appointed principal secretary to Ontario premier Bill Davis and associate secretary of the cabinet.
1982 Davis gets wet at rain-soaked Grey Cup game at Exhibition Stadium.
1983 Davis appoints committee to invesitigate feasibility of building a domed stadium.
1985 Davis leaves politics, his last act to extend public funding to Catholic schools.
1989 SkyDome is completed for $600 million – $450 million over budget – and becomes the home of the Argonauts football team and Blue Jays baseball club.
1993 As chair of Mulroney successor Kim Campbell’s campaign, Tory approves ad that mocks Liberal leader John Chretien’s facial deformity.
1994 Province, using taxpayers’ money, pays off skyrocketing debt on SkyDome and sells it to Labatt for a paltry $150 million.
1995 Interbrew buys Labatt. Included in the deal is a controlling interest in the Blue Jays, the Argonauts and 48 per cent of the SkyDome. Tory returns to work for Rogers, this time as CEO.
1996 Appointed commissioner of the Canadian Football League.
1998 SkyDome goes into bankruptcy.
2000 Resigns as head of the CFL, leaving a mountain of debt.
2003 Unsuccesfully runs for mayor of Toronto.
2004 Having lost his bid to become mayor, Tory runs for and wins leadership of the Ontario PCs. Rogers buys SkyDome for $25 million, less than 5 per cent of what it cost taxpayers to have it built.
2007 Runs for premier of Ontario. Trying to follow in Davis’s footsteps, he pledges to fund all faith-based schools but is forced to reverse himself when the position proves unpopular.
