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Former Toronto mayor John Tory has announced he will not run again for the city’s top job in this fall’s municipal election.
In a statement on Tuesday, Tory said he will not seek re-election because of the impact that the race would have on his family and friends.
“I will not be running for mayor because I feel I cannot put my family and the people I care about through the inevitable attacks on me and my personal life that we’ve started to see before I’ve even announced my intentions,” Tory said in the statement.
“I’m not asking for you to feel sorry for me. I did hold myself to account by stepping down and I know that politics is a tough business — at times, brutal. What I’m asking for is your understanding.”
In February 2023, Tory announced his resignation, just months into his third term as mayor, after he admitted he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a former staff person. He had served as mayor since 2014.
Tory said he intends to continue his work as a commentator and will watch the field of candidates closely. He said he plans to urge any residents who think they could contribute to improving the city “meaningfully” to enter the race for either mayor or councillor.
He said he will continue to serve through his charitable and volunteer work, including with Woodgreen, Scarborough Health Network and the Toronto International Film Festival.
“I will always champion Toronto. I will always be this city’s number one fan.”
John Tory is pictured here writing at his desk in council chambers at a Toronto city council meeting on Feb. 15, 2023. In his statement on Thursday, Tory said if he were to run in the mayoral race, his focus would be on ensuring ‘the city is a place where businesses want to invest and grow and where our most talented people want to stay and can thrive while we attract more exceptional people, innovators and entrepreneurs, from around the world.’ (Michael Wilson/CBC)
Coun. Brad Bradford, who represents Beaches-East York, is the only councillor who has confirmed he is running for mayor.
Mayor Olivia Chow has not yet said whether or not she plans to run again.
When asked about Tory’s decision not to run this fall, Chow said on Tuesday: “I want to thank John Tory for his many years of service. And I know he loved the city.”
Tory violated city’s ethics rules, watchdog found
In October 2023, the city’s integrity commissioner, Jonathan Batty, concluded that during his three-year, on-and-off again affair, Tory failed to “observe the terms” of the city’s human resources policies and rules for relationships between city council members and their staff.
Batty also found that Tory improperly used his influence as mayor when he voted yes in 2022 on two motions concerning Toronto’s ultimately successful bid to be a host city for the 2026 World Cup.
The first vote, in April, saw a status report on the bid adopted by council, while the second, in July, gave the city manager approval to negotiate an exclusive contract with MLSE to provide some hosting services for the event.
No penalty was recommended for Tory because he no longer sat on council. Tory fully accepted the integrity commissioner’s findings when they were released.
Tory said he would have focused on ensuring city is safe
In his statement on Thursday, Tory said if he were to run in the race, his focus would be on ensuring “the city is a place where businesses want to invest and grow and where our most talented people want to stay and can thrive while we attract more exceptional people, innovators.
Tory added: “To do that we need a safe city where regardless of statistics, people actually feel safe; a city where open-air drug use on our streets and encampments in our parks are not normalized and just accepted; where the transit system is reliable, efficient and safe; and where the city government makes an effort … to keep taxes and fees low and the business climate competitive.”
He said in the statement that his accomplishments as mayor include investments in transit, housing and services while keeping taxes low, guiding the city through the pandemic, leading a “great team” at city hall and improving quality of life for Torontonians.
Tory added that he has no plans to endorse anyone at the moment, but “won’t hesitate to do so.”
The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 26.