Mayor John Tory has resigned after admitting he had a relationship with a former staffer. From the archives: a deep dive into his early political ambitions
Working the backrooms, John Tory has made everyone from Bill Davis to Brian Mulroney look good. Now he’s cashing in years of political capital in his bid to become premier. But there’s more at stake than his personal ambition. He may be Progressive Conservatism’s last hopehough he was born into Toronto aristocracy and has spent his entire adult life as a political, corporate and charitable titan, John Tory has no airs about him. He is plain-spoken, unimposing and unfailingly friendly.
Glory days: Premier Bill Davis made Tory his principal secretary in 1981—an unusually prestigious appointment for a 26-year-old.he defining moment of Toronto’s 2003 mayoral election, a memorable campaign fought clean and hard, came when the loser crashed the winner’s party. David Miller prevailed over John Tory by a count of 299,385 votes to 263,189.
Tory’s emphasis on meeting and talking to as many people as possible is stock-in-trade for opposition politicians, but it’s also an antidote to negative media coverage, especially in this era of image politics. The media love to churn out stories on how politicians vainly remake themselves for the cameras, and many in the Queen’s Park press gallery have pointed out that Tory no longer wears the eyeglasses that were a standard accessory during his mayoral campaign.
They wed in 1978 at Islington United Church, with a reception at Weston Golf Club attended by 150 friends and family. The following year, Hackett graduated with her BBA and gave birth to their first son, John Jr. Over the next nine years they had three more children, Christopher, Susan and George. The early years of their marriage were very busy, with nannies caring for the kids while they pursued their careers, he in law and she in corporate finance.
Tory left the campaign for only two days—November 1 and 2—to be with Hackett for the birth of their fourth child. He was pulled out of the delivery room in the midst of Hackett’s labour for an urgent call: one key adviser was recommending that the issue of free trade be taken off the table and referred to a referendum at a later date. Tory was incensed. “The election is the referendum,” he said curtly.