Mayor John Tory says he is asking private sector leaders to “step up” with funding if they want Toronto to mount a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

“I believe that if there is to be one (a bid), it should be largely financed by the private sector,” Tory said Tuesday. “That’s been done elsewhere and could be done here if there’s the will and interest in doing so.”

Toronto has until Sept. 15 to submit a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) indicating that the city is interested in joining the bidding process. Paris, Hamburg, Budapest and Rome have already entered the competition. On Tuesday, Los Angeles city council voted 15-0 to green-light a bid. That city previously hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.

Tory stressed he has not yet made up his mind but continues to canvass a wide variety of opinions from leaders in labour, business and the non-profit sector, as well as representatives from the sports industry and past civic leaders.

Tory said he is trying to pin down exactly how much a bid would cost. A consultant report, prepared for the city, estimated a bid would run between $50 and $60 million, though the IOC has announced rule changes since the report was prepared in 2013.

Sports executive Casey Wasserman, who is leading the Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Summer Games, has said private donors have pledged $35 million U.S. to fund the bid, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Tory said Tuesday he has had a preliminary discussion with Premier Kathleen Wynne on a bid, but it’s premature to comment. He also intends to talk to the leaders of the three federal parties on the campaign trail to gauge their opinions.

“If they said to me, ‘Well no, absolutely not; I can tell you that no matter what happens, if we win we’re not going to be interested in this,’ that’s obviously very relevant to my own deliberation.”

Tory said he is also paying close attention to what the city’s 44 councillors are thinking. All seven members of the budget committee are either lukewarm or against a bid, citing the high cost of hosting an Olympics, which have a legacy of cost overruns.

“The concerns about finance are on my mind, too,” he said at the launch for the United Way’s annual fundraising drive.

Ultimately, he added, a final decision on a bid will be up to council, “so obviously it’s on my radar screen to be seeing and trying to determine... whether there’s support for that or not.”

The IOC will pick a host city on Sept. 15, 2017.

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