Voters in Toronto will be returning to the polls just months after the October municipal election to vote in a successor to John Tory.
In a shocking move Friday night, Tory — who has been mayor since 2014 — announced he would resign after having an affair with a staffer.
Tory said the relationship did “not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor and as a family man.”
According to Tory, the relationship began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he and his long-time wife were spending “lengthy periods apart.”
Tory said he will be stepping down in order to “reflect on my mistakes” and “do the work of rebuilding the trust of my family.”
The revelation will leave Toronto without the mayor it elected in October and the expense of another election in the very near future.
How does the resignation process work?
While Tory announced his plans to resign at a hastily scheduled news conference on Friday evening, the official process is more complicated. He must send a letter of resignation to Toronto’s city clerk, which will allow city council to act on the matter at its next meeting.
Get daily Toronto news
A spokesperson confirmed to Global News that Tory had not yet submitted a letter of resignation as of 11 a.m. on Saturday and “remains mayor” for the time being.
“Once a resignation notice is received, the city will be able to advise on timelines and next steps,” the spokesperson said.
At the meeting that follows a resignation — the next council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 15 — the mayoral seat must be declared vacant.'”
“There are almost two steps to it,” municipal lawyer John Mascarin explained to Global News. “He resigns and then the city says, ‘We’ve got the resignation, we’re declaring the office vacant.”
Declaring the office vacant starts the clock on an election to replace Tory.
Why does there have to be an election?
In previous years, the city was able to appoint a successor to the mayor’s office.
However, the strong mayor powers brought in by the Ford government last year require Toronto to hold an election for the position of mayor.
“They’re going to have to run the expense of having a city-wide by-election for the mayor,” Mascarin explained.
The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act — passed in September — states that when there is a vacancy in “the office of the head of council,” a by-election must follow.
Council should pass a bylaw outlining that by-election within 60 days of declaring the office vacant, Mascarin said. That process will transform the city clerk into chief elections officer and give them the power to set the rules and process for the next ballot.
In October’s election, 31 candidates ran for mayor, including Tory.
Who takes over in the interim?
In November, shortly after the municipal election, Jennifer McKelvie, councillor for Scarborough-Rouge Park, was appointed as deputy mayor.
That role, the city explained at the time, was to assist the mayor, be the vice chair of various committees and act as mayor if Tory was away from the city, absent through illness, or if the mayoral office became vacant.
“Jennifer McKelvie is a hardworking, experienced city councillor and I am proud to appoint her as my deputy mayor,” Tory said in a statement at the time.
McKelvie said she was “proud to support” Tory’s agenda as his deputy mayor, adding that he has a “strong mandate to get things done for the people of Toronto this term.”
McKelvie will take on the duties of mayor after the seat is officially declared vacant, perhaps as early as the next council meeting.
— with files from Global News’ Hannah Jackson