John Tory learned from past election defeats that ‘less is more’

WATCH: Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory helped produce an hour of The Morning Show on Wednesday.

TORONTO – Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory has learned from past election defeats that communicating ideas can make or break a campaign.

“When you’re trying to communicate with people and sort of win their confidence, actually you have to kind of confine yourself to three or four things,” said Tory, who appeared on Global’s The Morning Show as a guest producer Wednesday.

Tory alluded to his provincial election defeat in 2007, while leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, as an example of how a single idea can sidetrack an entire election race.

“I had a 60 page platform when I ran as provincial leader, for premier, and in there was like a few lines on funding religious schools,” Tory said.

“Mr. McGuinty very successfully made it that I was all about religious schools. Which wasn’t true.”

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Tory admits that single issue derailed his efforts to become premier and cost him his seat in Don Valley West.

“If people were asked this time what I’m about, they’d say SmartTrack,” he said. “Which is building transit, something bold for the region and for the city.”

Tory, who is considered the frontrunner in the Toronto mayoral race, was also questioned about the personal attacks that have persisted throughout the campaign.

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“If someone called your legitimacy into question, just your whole legitimacy of your career and your life, and you’re really a piece of trash, you don’t like that,” said Tory.

“I’d love to see a campaign where there was a rule that said you can only talk positively about yourself.”