Toronto Mayor John Tory says he is resigning after having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Tory says the relationship with the employee in his office developed during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was spending long periods of time away from his wife Barbara, who he has been married to for over 40 years.

He says the relationship with the staffer ended by mutual consent earlier this year and the employee is now working at another job.

Tory broke the news in a statement from city hall Friday night, saying he was deeply sorry.

He says he will be working with city staff to ensure an orderly transition.

Tory was first elected mayor in 2014, partially on a promise to restore respectability to the office after the turbulent term of his predecessor Rob Ford, and had just been re-elected to a third term in October.