John Tory has not yet resigned as mayor of Toronto

John Tory is still the mayor of Canada's largest municipality, the city clerk confirmed to CTV News Toronto on Saturday.

On Friday night, The Toronto Star broke the news that Tori had an “inappropriate” relationship with a member of her staff. The employee, who has not been named, is no longer employed by the city.

Less than an hour later, the 68-year-old mayor held a press conference and announced that he would resign in the next few days. His relationship with an employee developed during the pandemic and ended “mutually” earlier this year, he said.

As of Saturday, Tory had yet to formally tender his resignation.

“The mayor has not submitted his resignation as mayor at this time and will remain mayor,” a city spokeswoman said Saturday morning.

It is not yet known when Tori plans to do so. The city says it will advise on deadlines and next steps after receiving the resignation letter.

On Saturday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford released a statement thanking Tory for her time in office.

“John will be remembered as a dedicated and hard-working mayor who served as a steady leader during the most difficult days of the pandemic,” Ford said. “He brought Toronto together with an optimistic vision for the future and I will miss working with him. to see it come to life.'

WHAT'S NEXT FOR TORONTO?

According to the City of Toronto Act, upon official resignation, the City Council must declare the office of mayor vacant. That could happen next Wednesday when councilors meet in a special meeting to discuss the 2023 budget.

Under the new strong-mayor legislation, the City of Toronto and the City of Ottawa must hold by-elections to fill the mayor's seat. Until then, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvey will take over the job.

After a by-election is called, the next step is to set a date when candidates can file their nominations, according to the Municipal Elections Act. The election day will be held 45 days after the nomination date.

Tory's departure comes at a difficult time in the city, with this year's budget rejected. With the mayor solely responsible for the budget, it remains to be seen what will happen to the Tory proposal, which includes a controversial increase in the police budget.