Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory said Sunday he's not going to apologize for taking some time to think about his political future after only 67 per cent of party delegates voted to keep him at the party's helm.

He called on the Conservatives to unite and "move on" after a difficult few months of leadership review that split the party into Tory supporters and critics.

Some party delegates believed Tory should step down if he didn't receive an overwhelming majority of the vote. After the results of the vote came in Tory said he would take some time to think about whether or not he would stay as leader. He surprised his peers by confirming three hours later that he would indeed remain at the top.

"The party has spoken and I think it's time to move on," he said.

"I don't think people should confuse thoughtfulness with indecisiciveness," he continued. "The notion that I would take an hour and a half to sit down and have a conversation with my wife and to talk to a few of my colleagues...I think most poeple would understand that. I don't apologize for that. I took the time to make a thoughtful decision and make sure I did it right."

A majority of 1,300 delegates voted Saturday at the party's annual meeting against holding a leadership convention to replace Tory after the party's failure in the past election.

Sources close to Tory's camp told The Canadian Press the vote results were in a "grey area" and made a quick decision about leadership difficult for the beleaguered party leader. A few more votes either way would have made the decision more obvious, they said.

A precedent was set in 1983 after former federal Conservative leader Joe Clark stepped down after only receiving 66 per cent of the vote. But Tory said Clark may have felt that decision was right for him 25 years ago but that today many people question that decision.

Tory's predecessor Ernie Eves said he supports the leader's decision to stay on. Eves himself only won his first seat by six votes.

"There will always be people in the party who aren't happy with the party leader," he said. "I know that all too well from personal experience. I think he deserves an opportunity."

However, former party president Rueben Devlin said Tory "flip-flopped" and didn't show great leadership skills by not making a clear decision immediately following the results of the vote.

"Leadership matters," he said. "You need to be decisive in what you're doing and that's what the public is looking for as well."

A political science professor from the University of Western Ontario told The Canadian Press Tory's future as leader won't be easy.

"He's got to win them over," said Paul Nesbitt-Larking.

He said Tory should seek a seat right away in a byelection and start proving himself to critics.

With files from The Canadian Press