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“The Canadian Olympic Committee has been crystal clear in its intention to be a lead advocate and prepare for a possible 2024 Olympic bid,” said Vallee, the COC’s executive director of communications.

Friday’s vote recognizes the tremendous opportunity a bid would represent for a world-class city like Toronto and for the future of sport in Canada, he said.

“That said, the mayor has also been clear that no decision has been made as of now.”

Earlier this week, Tory met with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to discuss, among other things, the potential Toronto Olympic bid. Both Wynne and Tory expressed concerns about the financial commitment connected with putting Toronto’s name forward.

The decision to write the letter of interest ultimately belongs to Tory, although the mayor has said he would seek the approval of Toronto city council before submitting a formal bid.

Los Angeles, Paris, Hamburg, Rome and Budapest have already formally informed the IOC of their intention to bid.

On Thursday, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford came out and blasted the idea of a Toronto bid.

“I cannot emphasize enough how bad of an idea this is,” Ford said in a news release. “There were multiple instances of cost overruns with the (Pan Am) Games we just hosted, and we still don’t have the final price tag yet. We also don’t know whether all these brand new facilities, built with billions of hard earned taxpayer dollars, will even meet Olympic standards.”