John Tory is marking his final day as the mayor of Toronto.
Tory shocked the city with an announcement a week ago that he had an “inappropriate relationship” with someone who used to work on his staff and said he'd be stepping down.
The 68-year-old then lingered in office to see his budget debated at council and submitted his formal resignation hours after his fiscal plan was approved late Wednesday night.
Tory’s resignation takes effect at 5 p.m. today and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie takes the reigns on an interim basis—she says she won’t be running to replace him.
Toronto’s next council meeting will see the city clerk bring a report that allows councillors to formally declare the mayor’s office vacant and to pass a bylaw to initiate a byelection.
A nomination period would open the next day and last anywhere between 30 and 60 days, with the mayoral byelection held 45 days after that.
Tory, who had cultivated an image in office as a straitlaced moderate conservative, will see his third term come to an end less than four months after his re-election in October.
He has said he hopes to keep contributing to Toronto in the future.
“I continue to be deeply sorry and apologize unreservedly to the people of Toronto and to all those hurt by my actions without exception,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “This has been the job of a lifetime.”
