City councillor Pam McConnell is 'gravely ill' in hospital, mayor says

Veteran city councillor Pam McConnell is “gravely ill” and is “fighting as hard as she can” in hospital, Mayor John Tory says.

The Toronto Centre-Rosedale councillor was hospitalized recently due to ongoing lung issues and remains in hospital with her family by her side, according to a constituency assistant in her office.

Though the exact nature of McConnell’s health issues are not clear, the constituency assistant told CP24 that it is not cancer.

“She is very ill but she is a fighter and we will all be rooting for her, as I am sure will the many, many people whose lives she has touched in decades of service to the City of Toronto,” Tory said on Thursday.

McConnell has served as a city councillor since 1994 and prior to that spent a dozen years as a school trustee with the then-Toronto School Board.

In addition to representing the constituents of Ward 28 on council, McConnell also serves as one of Tory’s four deputy mayors.

Speaking with reporters at city hall, Tory said he has come to respect McConnell “immensely” as both a person and a colleague.

“I am very fond of her and I am very sad that she is gravely ill,” he said.

Tory said that McConnell’s family have indicated that it may be “uplifting” for the councillor to read messages of support from Torontonians and asked anyone wishing to pass on their best wishes to do so by sending an email to [e-mail].

In a subsequent message posted to Twitter, Tory said that while the outlook "is not very good at the moment, we know Pam is a fighter."

McConnell is married with two daughters and four grandchildren.