Toronto Mayor John Tory says the success of the Pan Am Games shouldn’t be the only factor in deciding whether the city will bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

"This is a big decision,” he said. “You don’t make it based on the emotion of the night before. I am in favour of consulting very carefully and making the decision rationally.”

On Saturday, Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut spoke candidly in favour of a 2024 Olympics in Toronto, saying he will use the “full power” of his office to support the city if it does bid to host the event.

The success of the Pan Am Games, he said, has proven Toronto is ready for the Olympics.

But Tory said there are many more factors to consider in making that decision.

“There’s a lot of consultation to be done if you want to see a decision made rationally about this,” Tory said. “We have to talk to each other, talk to the people, talk to the business community and talk to other levels of government.”

One of the most important things to take into account, Tory said, will be the cost of hosting the Olympics and whether or not it will be a good investment for Toronto in the long term.

“With these big international events, you have to look at the net benefit,” Tory said. “Yes, there’s investment required, but some of it is in things we need like transit and housing and…that’s a calculation we’re going to make carefully.”

Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair shared Tory’s cautious enthusiasm about the bid.

“Having seen the fantastic success of the Pan Am Games, I’m optimistic that Toronto would be able to put together a bid for the 2024 Olympics,” Mulcair told CTV Northern Ontario. “I think it has to be costed very carefully, having seen what’s happened in the cases of other Olympics in the past.”

All Canadian Olympic bids have to be approved by the federal government, so Mulcair’s position could make or break Toronto’s chances of hosting the Games if he were to become prime minister after October’s federal election.

After the COC’s announcement, Toronto is now in what is called the “invitation phase” of bidding process. The city has until Sept. 15 to submit a letter to the International Olympic Committee about its interest in holding the Games.

And Tory said the six-week period provides enough time to determine if an Olympic bid would really be in the best interest of the city.

The proposal has to be approved by the federal government, city council and the COC to become an official bid.

Toronto has applied to host the Olympics five times in the past. The city’s 1996 and 2008 bids fell short and the three other bids did not make it to the voting stage.