One Toronto - John Tory 's remarks
Thank you, thank you so much.
Look at this…what a great Toronto crowd! And what a great night this is for our city.
Mesdames et messieurs, les gens on fait leur choix ce soir. nous allons commencer a
construire notre ville - un Toronto prospere, juste et respecté.
Ladies and gentlemen, the people have spoken and tonight, we begin the work of building one
toronto - a prosperous, fair, respected and caring Toronto.
Together, like never before, we begin building Toronto the great.
I am humbled and honoured by the trust placed in me tonight.
I’ve said this throughout the entire campaign, and I think it’s worth repeating right now…
As your new mayor, i will work with the council that you elected tonight in moving Toronto not
left, not right, but forward.
I will be a balanced and accountable leader and we’re going to do this together.
Tonight is not a victory for any one person.
It is a victory for Toronto - all of us who love this city and care about its future.
Tonight, voters have sent a message that is abundantly clear.
Voters want their elected officials to get down to work on the priorities that matter most to
them…
Better transit, more jobs, an end to the gridlock that is choking our streets.
And the electorate has spoken on one other issue: torontonians want to see an end to the
division that has paralyzed city hall in the last few years.
And to all of that I say: Toronto, I hear you.
i hear you loud and clear.
You want results, and together with council, we will deliver.
We will get on with the building of smarttrack. we will start to put people first when we make
decisions that affect congestion and traffic.
We will stop neglecting and leaving citizens behind in our city’s most isolated
neighbourhoods.
We will tackle our unacceptable youth unemployment rate.
We will start to make sensible decisions to really tackle waste at city hall, to become more
efficient, to modernize our services and delivery of services.
And we will build a strong, inclusive city of opportunity from etobicoke to scarborough and
from north york to the waterfront. One Toronto.
As you know, this was one long and tough campaign.
Without a doubt, there were some differences and many debates on the issues among all the
candidates in the last few months.
Those debates and those conversations were and are necessary, but it’s now time to come
together.
It’s time to unite as one city and one Toronto.
I would like to wish mayor ford well. and i’m genuinely looking forward to seeing him in good
health. (if Rob wins: I also want to congratulate him on his victory in ward 2 tonight and look forward to working with him in a productive manner on council.)
I would also like to thank Doug Ford.
We may have disagreed on some of the solutions to our city’s challenges, but it does takes
courage to put your name on any ballot.
Thank you Doug.
To Olivia Chow…
you offered a vision of toronto that appealed to the best in a lot of us. your personal story is a
true personification of the tremendous potential that is Toronto and Canada.
that’s the oronto we are both proud of and that’s the toronto we both want to keep building.
I suspect that after a well-deserved rest you will have much more to contribute.
And i want to say thanks also to David, Karen, Ari and all the other candidates for mayor, who
individually put forward their energy and vision.
they collectively contributed to discussions that will make our city better.
And finally, congratulations and thank you to All the candidates for council and school board trustee positions across the entire city tonight.
Our civic democracy absolutely depends on good people having difficult but necessary
discussions.
I believe that Toronto, once again, was well-served in that regard.
So on a night like this, i would be remise to not take a few moments to thank a few others.
to my family and the entire team tory… your support in the past 8 months means the world to
me.
And that begins with the love of my life, my wife, Barbara Hackett.
I know that at times in this campaign, things didn’t seem too promising… and i know you were
probably thinking… “oh boy, here we go, again.” and through it all… on the best and worst of
days… you stood firm, looked at me and without hesitation, and encouraged me to keep going.
Thank you, Barb - for the unconditional love and the enduring support.
I hope to be able to live up to that in the days ahead.
To our four children: John, Chris, Susan and George: you threw yourselves fully behind your
father’s mission even though you are all busy with your own lives.
and i just want to say thank you for believing in me.
I am also grateful to my mother liz for her free (and at times a little too honest) advice over the
phone almost every day of the campaign.
and to my sister and brothers who helped a lot including filtering mom’s advice…
but seriously… i am a very lucky man to have such great support.
And tonight,I am also thinking of my dad, who despite not being with us, i know is looking down
proudly.
Finally…
To my army of staff, volunteers, friends and supporters: thank you from the bottom of my
heart.
I am so proud of each of you.
Thank you for never losing the fire and for not losing faith in me.
And please know that the only reason I'm standing here tonight is because for eight
months i stood on your shoulders.
So take a bow. You've earned it.
My friends, the campaign may be over but the renewal of our city begins now.
Toronto is the engine of growth in Ontario and Canada, and we must remain strong.
As your new mayor, i will work diligently and respectfully with the new council and with the
federal and provincial governments.
The aim will always be to unite Toronto, and to deliver real results.
In this election, torontonians voted for bold action and for an investment in our future.
torontonians want a future where solutions for traffic and transit are paramount.
And so we will get to work.
We will get smarttrack up and running in 7 years, building the Scarborough subway and improving
existing ttc service for the 1.6 million daily riders.
Torontonians want a future where we make intelligent decisions that will reduce gridlock.
and so we will get to work.
Will coordinate construction, synchronize traffic lights and mandate zero tolerance for
rush hour lane blockers.
Torontonians also want a future where good and lasting jobs are available.
and so we will get to work on that too.
We will ask government partners, business and labour to team up whenever possible and foster
opportunities for our youth.
We will also create the right business and tax environment so that companies continue to
choose Toronto.
And finally…
Torontonians want a future where their mayor proudly represents the whole city, one Toronto
- a leader who regards you not just as
A that ladies and gentlemen is exactly what I intend to do.
I know we have a tremendous amount of work to do. the task at hand is monumental.
But i also know that with the right kind of leadership at city hall, better days are ahead.
We live in a good city, a really really good city.
my goal in the next four years, together with council, is to unite this city as one toronto and
A Toronto that is known once more as a beacon of respect for everyone.
A place where there is opportunity for all.
A safe, prosperous, fair, respected and caring place to work and to live.
A Toronto which is true to our shared values… standing together leaving no one behind.
Friends, we can do this.
We have all the right ingredients to make this happen.
Let’s get to work!
Thank you again and goodnight Toronto!
|
John Tory - New Mayor of Toronto 10/27/2014 |
Contact: |
|
|
