[URBAN NOTE] "John Tory elected as Toronto's new mayor, replacing Rob Ford"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail confirms what I heard on CBC earlier: John Tory got elected mayor of Toronto. The note of the authors that relations with the province of Ontario might proceed smoothly is worth sharing, too.

John Tory will be the next mayor of Canada’s largest city, a victory that marks the end of the often-turbulent reign of the Ford brothers at Toronto city hall.

Mr. Tory, a former Rogers executive and radio host, had a 47,000-vote lead with more than 1,650 of the 1,767 polls reporting, a lead wide enough to declare him the winner just minutes after voting ended Monday night.

Doug Ford, who jumped into the race at the last minute as a substitute for his ailing brother was in second place. Former NDP MP Olivia Chow, who entered the campaign as the frontrunner, but saw her lead evaporate over the summer, came in third.

[. . .]

In China, where she is travelling on provincial business, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne heaved a sigh of relief.

"Hallelujah!" the Premier said as she heard the results, shortly after finishing a morning run photo-op with Chinese athletes and international school students at a stadium in Shanghai.

While Ms. Wynne has remained nominally neutral in the race for mayor, her caucus broke heavily for Mr. Tory. Sources in government said the Liberals were fans of his signature Smart Track policy. And Liberals insiders fretted about the prospect of working with Mr. Ford for the next four years.