John Tory has resigned as mayor of Toronto Friday evening after admitting to cheating with a former employee in his office.
“During the pandemic, I developed a relationship with an employee in our office in a way that did not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor, and as a family man,” Tory said in a last-minute press conference held Friday evening.
“The relationship ended by mutual consent earlier this year. During the course of our relationship, some time ago, the employee decided to purse employment outside City Hall and secured a job elsewhere.”
Tory, 68, acknowledged that it was a “serious error in judgment” to allow the relationship to develop.
He said the relationship came when he and his wife Barb were enduring “many lengthy periods apart” during the pandemic.
Tory has been married to his wife for over forty years. They have four children together.
Tory was re-elected only four months ago for his third straight term in office in Oct. 2022. At the time of campaigning, he said that this would be his last term in office.
Tory’s brief appearance Friday evening ended with conceding that he has disappointed residents and his family.
“It has been the job of a lifetime and while I’ve let them down (residents) and my family down in this instance, I’ve nonetheless been deeply honoured by the opportunity to serve the people of this wonderful city,” Tory said.
He added that he has told the city’s integrity commissioner about the relationship and has asked him to review it.
Deputy Mayor and Scarborough-Rouge Park Councillor Jennifer McKelvie will take over as interim mayor.
