Toronto Mayor John Tory has reacted to news that Joe Biden is the projected winner of the U.S. election, saying Biden “seems to bring a great sense of calm.”
Tory reacted to the news in an interview with Global News on Saturday.
“I think what’s needed now both to fight the pandemic and to carry on with the United States as the great success story that it is, is calm, resolute leadership,” Tory said.
“Somebody who wants to bring people together and I think he’ll do that.”
On Saturday, four days after election day in America, major U.S. media outlets finally projected that Biden will reach the 270 electoral votes needed to become president.
Throughout the week, Biden and President Donald Trump had been neck-and-neck in key battleground states. Trump’s lead slowly slipped away in several of those states as ballots continued to be counted, eventually creating enough of a gap to make the projection.
“The United States is our closest friend and our biggest customer,” Tory said.
“It is in our interest that they should be the beacon of democracy they are and I’m sure that going forward we will continue to have great relations with them — both the City of Toronto and Canada with the U.S. and I’m sure President-elect Biden will be a part of that.”
Tory also commented on Trump’s current refusal to concede amid legal action and allegations of voter fraud. Election officials across the country maintain that there is no indication of any alleged voter fraud.
“People don’t realize how much passion and how much heart you put into politics, but you also have to remember as much as you’re going to be disappointed when you lose — and I’ve lost — that you still have to respect the process and you have to respect the outcome,” Tory said.
“The people are never wrong.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also reacted to news of Biden’s projected win.
“Our economies and the livelihoods of many living on both sides of the border depend on one another,” Ford said on Twitter.
“I look forward to continuing building on Ontario’s relationship with the United States. We all do better when we work together.”
— With files from Rachael D’Amore and Hannah Jackson