On All Matters "Ford"
Toronto Residents Solidly Side with Police Chief Bill Blair
In fact, on all matters "Ford", Chief Bill Blair has the credibility, trust and support of a full majority of Toronto residents.
Councillor Doug Ford, the Mayor's Brother, indicated that the comments should not have been made by the Police Chief in his police uniform and, in the absence of any criminal charge, showed a bias that should have the Police Chief step aside for an independent probe of his comments.
The poll results also indicate that the Police Chief has towering credibility versus the two Ford Brothers and a majority of residence believe that Toronto Police should continue to handle the matter and not bring in an outside police agency to carry out an independent review.
Full Majority - 70% - Say Chief Should Not Step Aside...
A full majority (70%) of Toronto residents disagree (46% very much/24% somewhat) that the Chief of Police should step aside until an assessment can be made by the Office of the Independent Police Review, compared with 30% (10% very much/20% somewhat) who agree that Chief Bill Blair should step aside. A majority in each part of the city disagree that the Police Chief should step aside - 79% in the old city of Toronto/downtown followed by 77% of those in Etobicoke, 71% in York/East York, 69% in North York and 56% in Scarborough.
Residents Give Chief Blair a Three to One Ratio in Credibility Over Ford Brothers...And on Trust and Performance, Chief Soars While Ford's Languish...
It appears that residents in Toronto give Chief Bill Blair an almost three to one credibility difference between himself and the two Ford brothers when talking about this current situation involving the Mayor. Chief Blair receives 86% credibility (41% a lot/45% some) compared with Councillor Doug Ford at 30% (6% a lot/24% some) and Mayor Rob Ford also at 30% (8% a lot/22% some).
It should also be noted that when residents are asked to indicate the extent to which they trust a number of public figures in carrying out their job, Police Chief Bill Blair has 73% trust compared to Mayor Rob Ford and 34% and City Councillor Doug Ford, the Mayor's brother, at 30%.
In terms of approval ratings of their overall personal job performance, Chief Bill Blair is at 80% approval (strongly 32%/somewhat 48%), unchanged since 2011, compared to Councillor Doug Ford at 42% (strongly 11%/somewhat 31%) and his brother Mayor Rob Ford at 40% (strongly 18%/somewhat 22%) which is down nine points since 2012.
Majority--56%--Say They Have Faith in Toronto Police Investigation and Not Time for Another Police Agency to be Brought In...But Sizable Minority (44%) Think Otherwise...
Some might argue that Chief Bill Blair and the Toronto Police Services investigation has reached a stage where another police agency--like the OPP or the RCMP--should review what has been found or further investigate and determine if any laws have been broken by the Mayor and render a decision to clear the air. Others might argue that they have faith in Chief Bill Blair and the Toronto Police Services investigation to date--that if there are charges or no charges to be laid then there is no need to clear the air or anything else because the Toronto Police Services will do the right thing independently at the right time.
On this matter, a majority of residents (56%) have faith in Chief Bill Blair and the Toronto police services investigation and see no need to bring in another force to deal with the issue. This is evident across all parts of the city with it being highest in North York (59%) followed by Etobicoke (58%), Scarborough (56%), York/East York (55%) and the old city of Toronto/downtown (54%).
This compares with a sizable minority of 44% who believe that another police agency - like the OPP or RCMP - should review what has been found or further the investigation and determine if any laws have been broken by the Mayor. Those downtown (46%) are most likely to think so, followed by York/East York (45%), Scarborough (44%), Etobicoke (42%) and North York (41%).
Full Majority (71%) Don't Believe that Police Chief and Media conspiring to "Get the Mayor"...
A full majority (71%) of Toronto residents disagree (44% strongly/28% somewhat) that Police Chief Bill Blair and elements of the Toronto media are conspiring to "get the Mayor"--an echo of a comment by Councilor Doug Ford--compared with just 29% who believe that there is a concocted conspiracy (9% strongly agree/20% somewhat agree).
These are some of the findings of and Ipsos Reid poll conducted between November 8 and 12 on behalf of CTV News/CP24/ Newstalk 1010 Radio. For this survey, a sample of 665 Torontonians was interviewed via Ipsos' online panel. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/-4.3 percentage points had all adults living in Toronto been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
416.324.2001
[email protected]
About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.
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