John Tory resigns as Mayor of Toronto after affair with staffer
Published February 10, 2023 at 9:11 pm
In a surprise press conference, Toronto Mayor John Tory has stepped down tonight (Feb. 10) after admitting he had a previous relationship with an employee during the pandemic.
He refused to take any questions after his resignation, in which he apologized to city staffers, his colleagues, the Toronto public and most notably, his family and wife of 45 years, Barbara Hackett.
Tory blamed the 2018-2020 affair with the 31-year-old staffer on a “serious error of judgment.” She later left City Hall in early 2021.
Tory said being the city’s mayor has been the “job of a lifetime” but said he is now focusing on repairing relationships that were impacted by the relationship as he asked for privacy to take time to spend with his wife and family.
The initial story of the affair was broken by a Toronto daily newspaper and was later confirmed by the mayor.
It is expected that Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, appointed by Tory after the 2022 municipal election, will step up into the position.
