John Tory to formally step down as Mayor on Friday

Toronto Mayor John Tory, on Wednesday evening, handed in his letter of resignation at the Toronto City Clerk’s Office detailing that he will step down from office formally on Friday.

In the letter submitted to John D. Elvidge, Tory stated that he would leave office on Feb. 17 at 5 p.m, before which he will utilize the two days leading up to it to hold meetings with Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, who is to take over as the mayor until byelections are held, as well as other city staff.

“I want to thank the people of Toronto for trusting me as Mayor since 2014. I continue to be deeply sorry and apologize unreservedly to the people of Toronto and to all those hurt by my actions without exception…This has been the job of a lifetime, and while I have let many people, including myself, down in this instance, I have nonetheless been deeply honoured by the opportunity to serve the people of this wonderful city for more than eight years and I hope I achieved some good for the city I truly love,” The letter handed over by Tory read.

“The resignation of the Mayor does not affect mayoral appointments to Committees or other bodies. All mayoral decisions made to date remain in effect,” a statement by the city read, adding that Elvidge is in correspondence with the city manager as well as McKelvie on what is to be done moving forward.

According to The City of Toronto Act, which details provisions for when a mayor decides to step down, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie is to hold office for now, until a byelection is scheduled for the position.

According to the act, the city council is to meet up to formally declare the position vacant and has 60 days to pass a by-law for the polls after.

After a byelection is announced, candidates must be given a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 60 days to put their name in the running of the mayoral election, according to the act. Thereafter, the election is scheduled for 45 days later, which would suggest that McKelvie is likely to hold the position for the next few months.