Trudeau, Tory to meet at City Hall

torontosun.com
Jan. 12, 2016
By Shawn Jeffords

Justin Trudeau will make his first visit to Toronto City Hall as prime minister Wednesday.

He’ll meet with Mayor John Tory at 12:15 p.m. after a brief photo opportunity in Nathan Phillips Square. The meeting is set to last about 45 minutes and then the pair will take questions from reporters.

Tory’s office had no comment on the meeting, but sources tell the Toronto Sun transit, housing and Syrian refugee resettlement are on the agenda.

“I look forward to working with (Trudeau) and his team on behalf of the people of Toronto,” Tory tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “Investing in Toronto is the best thing (Trudeau) can do to build the economy, help people and fight climate change.”

Tory also said this is the first time a sitting prime minister has visited City Hall since amalgamation in 1998.

City spokesman Jackie DeSouza confirmed no prime minister has made a trip to Toronto City Hall for this type of sit-down but said there have been visits for other events.

“An official visit includes a private meeting between the mayor and the prime minister,” she said. “There will be an official book signing where the prime minister will sign the mayor’s book, a gift exchange. That type of thing.”

During the federal election campaign, Trudeau pledged to cover a portion of the cost of Tory’s SmartTrack transit project. It’s believed the federal portion is $2.6 billion.

Last week, Tory met with 14 members of the federal Liberals’ Toronto caucus at City Hall. Little was reported from the closed-door meeting, but they agreed to meet again to discuss funding for transit and infrastructure projects.