ANALYSIS: What’s next for Beaches—East York?

John Tory is running for the Liberal nomination to become the next member of parliament for Beaches—East York.

Yes, you read that right.

But it’s not the John Tory you’re thinking of.

This is John A. D. Tory, the 47-year-old son of Toronto’s former mayor. “When I meet with people, and I’m out in the community, and I give my name, there’s obviously a moment of recognition,” he says. “But people are not terribly interested in who my family is or who I am in terms of who I’m related to. They’re interested in what I can do for them.”

(Full disclosure: I’ve known Tory’s father for more than 40 years.)

Unlike his father who joined the Progressive Conservative party as a teenager, this John Tory was drawn to the federal Liberals.

“I have known myself, and my friends and family have known me, to be a Liberal for a long time,” he says. “I can’t put a date on it, but as I got older, and started raising a family.”

Tory realized he cared a lot about having a strong public school system for the three kids  (now 18, 16, and 13) he has with his wife Melanie, and a solid health-care system for his community. “I want those public institutions to be strong for them. And so, to me, that’s a Liberal government.”

The Liberal nomination in Beaches—East York is the first thing Tory has ever […] This is an excerpt. Read the full article for free at TVO.org.