For the first time since the shakeup at city hall, Mayor John Tory met with Premier Doug Ford at Queen’s Park this morning to discuss “shared priorities.”
“We are going to talk about how the two governments can work together on transit, on affordable house, on community safety, and a host of other things,” Tory told CP24 on Wednesday night ahead of the meeting.
“We are going to find ways to work together, I hope, on those issues because those are the issues people told us they care about.”
In a news release issued by the Ontario government on Wednesday, the province said the mayor and premier would be meeting to discuss “shared priorities” before Ford heads to Quebec on Thursday afternoon to speak with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers.
The meeting comes just one day after a significantly smaller Toronto City Council gathered at city hall for the first time this term.
In the middle of the municipal election campaign, Ford announced that he planned to slash the number of city councillors in Toronto from the planned 47 to just 25, a move he claimed would save $25 million over four years.
But on Wednesday, councillors voted to double staffing budgets to deal with the increased ward sizes, a decision which will ultimately wipe out Ford’s promised savings.
Speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park prior to his meeting with Tory, Ford said that he and the mayor are on “the same wavelength” when it comes to moving the city forward.
“We are going to have a great discussion but more importantly we are going to do great things together,” he said. “As much as sometimes we may agree or disagree we are on the same wavelength when it comes to building transit and infrastructure and getting the city moving forward.”
Ford and Tory did not speak to reporters following the sit-down on Thursday morning.
