TORONTO—Mayor-elect John Tory pledged Tuesday Oct. 28 to reach out to large stretches of the city that shunned him at the ballot box, saying he would win over voters in what was Rob Ford’s political home turf and create “one Toronto.”
Tory took solace in his comfortable mayoral victory, but admitted he has work to do in the face of a map from Monday’s election starkly showing his support base as an inverse “T” that doesn’t crack the city’s northwest and east, which supported Ford’s brother Doug.
“I think my challenge going forward is to make sure that we gain the confidence of and have people feeling that they are part of one Toronto going forward,” he told reporters outside city hall.
The businessman and former provincial politician took 40 percent of the popular vote, while his rival, Doug Ford, took 33 percent. Former NDP MP Olivia Chow garnered 23 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, Rob Ford, who ran as a councillor in a ward in the city’s north west, enjoyed a landslide victory, gaining 11,629 of 19,733 votes cast. He remains in office until Dec. 2, when Tory will be sworn in.
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