Toronto Mayor John Tory abruptly resigned on Friday after saying he had a relationship with a staffer, only months after cruising to reelection on a pledge to fix a housing crisis in North America’s fourth-largest city.
“During the pandemic, I developed a relationship with an employee in my office in a way that did not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor and as a family man,” Tory said at a news conference. “I’ve decided that I would step down as mayor so that I could take the time to reflect on my mistakes and to do the work of rebuilding the trust of my family.”
Canada’s financial capital is facing a number of challenges, including the lingering financial effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, a potential recession and a housing affordability crisis. Tory’s promise to fix the latter was one of his main campaign pledges when he won an unprecedented third consecutive term in October.
