John Tory blasts Nick Kouvalis's conduct, but won't rule out hiring strategist in the future

Mayor John Tory condemned Nick Kouvalis's offensive online remarks, but didn't rule out hiring the controversial political strategist to work on his next mayoral campaign.

Tory said if he did hire Kouvalis,there is no way he wouldtake the same divisive stance Kouvalis was using in Kellie Leitch's federal Conservativeleadership campaign.

"I would sooner lose an election," Tory told reporters on Friday.

• Nick Kouvalis, controversial campaign manager for Kellie Leitch, resigns

All week, the mayor has been asked questions about Kouvalis's recent Twitter comments, including one tweet that called a constitutional expert critical of Leitch's policies a "cuck" short for cuckold. The term is used online by white nationalists and other members of the so-called alt-right.

Tory called those comments "unacceptable" and said he would never use that language nor adopt ideasbeing pushed by Leitch's campaign, like aproposal to screen prospective immigrants for "anti-Canadian values."

"I am not going to engage in anything that divides people or tries to cause people to be anxious about one another,"he said.

Kouvalis apologized for the tweet and late Thursday he resigned from Leitch's campaign, saying he had become a "distraction."

Tory said he spoke with Kouvalis, who he considers a friend, Thursday night and urged him to get help with the personal issues that have plagued him for some time, including during the last mayoral campaign.

"When a friend is in trouble, you support them in getting out of that trouble," he said.

Tory added Kouvalis doesn't work in his office and said the media grossly overestimates the amount of communication they have.

Kouvalis, who also ran Rob Ford's successful mayoral campaign, was arrested for impaired driving last April in the Windsor, Ont., area. After that incident, he explained on Twitter that he had been hopeful that he brought his alcohol use under control following a stretch in rehab and regular addiction control meetings.

He also admitted to Maclean'sMagazineearlier this month that he had been putting "fake news" on Twitter, solely "to make the left go nuts."

In a statement on Facebook, Kouvalis said the pressure of Leitch's campaign was not "not conducive" to his personal wellbeing.