Why John Tory shouldn’t run for Toronto mayor again

Tory quit in scandal, clearing the path for Olivia Chow. His return would be a step backward for the city

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Municipal elections in Ontario won’t take place until Oct. 26, 2026. This obviously doesn’t prevent polling companies from conducting surveys to reveal what the pulse of the electorate is like more than a year in advance.

Here’s an example.

A Liaison Strategies/NEPMCC poll released on July 14 suggested that Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow would “comfortably” beat top potential candidates like former deputy mayor Ana Bailão, city councillor Brad Bradford, former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey and former federal Liberal cabinet minister Marco Mendicino. The only major obstacle seemingly standing in her way is if former Toronto mayor John Tory jumps into the race.

“(Fifty-one) per cent of Torontonians say they approve of the job Mayor Chow is doing-but when we ask how they’d vote in a hypothetical rematch with John Tory, just 34 per cent say they’d back her,” according to the poll. “Tory would trail narrowly, by four points, and while he’d bring his own baggage into any campaign, he remains a competitive force. Excluding undecided voters, Chow would sit at 39 per cent and Tory at 35 per cent.”

Early numbers seem to indicate it would be a close mayoral election. For Conservatives, Liberals and others who oppose Chow’s left-wing views and policies, the candidate of choice seems clear.

Except it’s not.

Tory shouldn’t run in next year’s mayoral election. Why? He caused a huge mess when he unexpectedly left the mayor’s chair. It could have been easily avoided had he kept his zipper up.

The Toronto Star released a bombshell story on Feb. 10, 2023, that Tory, who was 68 years old at the time, had an affair with an unnamed 31-year-old former staffer during COVID-19. While no law in Ontario prohibits workplace romances, Toronto city council’s code of conduct specifically states “members should perform their duties and arrange their private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence and bears close public scrutiny.” Tory, who has been married to his wife, Barbara, for over 40 years and always promoted himself as a family man, did the exact opposite.

Tory acknowledged he had made a “serious error in judgment” and resigned within an hour of the story’s release. He apologized to his wife, children and the people of Toronto at a hastily arranged press conference. “It has been the job of a lifetime,” he said, “and while I have let them and my family down in this instance, I have nonetheless been deeply honoured by the opportunity to serve the people of this wonderful city and I believe that I did some good for the city, that I did make a positive difference for the city that I truly love particularly during the pandemic.”

Did this apology resonate with Torontonians? In some instances, it probably did. In other cases, far less so. The now-former mayor’s extramarital affair with a young staffer was wrong, immoral and unethical. While no one is obviously perfect, there are certain standards we expect from our public officials. Tory failed miserably in this regard, and that perception hasn’t really changed since he left office.

Tory’s resignation directly led to Chow’s unexpected term in the mayor’s chair.

Chow’s close victory over Bailão in the June 26, 2023, Toronto mayoral by-election enabled her to pass massive amounts of tax hikes and wasteful spending. Municipal and property taxes in Toronto have gone through the roof, increasing by 9.5 per cent in 2024 and 6.9 per cent in 2025. Operating expenses reached a staggering $18.8 billion this year. She shut down American dollars and investment by announcing that “only Canadian companies can bid on construction work that is worth under $8.8. million, and goods and service under $353,000. U.S.-based suppliers will no longer be able to bid on city contracts.” There’s more, but you get the idea.

Which isn’t to say Tory’s time as mayor was pure bliss.

He kept property taxes at or below the rate of inflation, attracted some new business, and helped create economic opportunities. He also spent an estimated $8 billion on his SmartTrack plan for transit, and it’s still not finished. He proposed a legacy project, the Rail Deck Park, which could have cost anywhere from $1.66 billion to an estimated $3.8 billion. He tabled a motion in June 2020 to “de-task” and reform police services. He called for an unnecessary city-wide handgun ban, struggled for years with the carding issue involving police and street checks-and so forth.

Was Tory a better mayor than Chow? Yes, but his Red Tory policies and centrist agenda were barely palatable. There’s no reason why Bailão, Bradford and especially Furey (who I endorsed in the 2023 mayoral by-election) couldn’t do a better job than Tory. If he opts to stay out and gives them a chance to build up their policies, programs, visions for the city and campaign war chests, Toronto could end up with a brand new mayor in 2026.

Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.