Edmonton Municipal Politics September 2001

Residents (70%) Aware of City's Bullish Economy and Say (87%) Recent Population Growth a "Good Thing"

But Strong Minority (43%) Says Council Spends Too Much Time Fighting Amongst Itself

Edmonton, AB - A new Ipsos-Reid/Edmonton Sun/CFRN poll shows that with the Edmonton municipal election less than a month away, the Mayor (67%) and City Council (63%) both enjoy high approval ratings. The municipal government's highest marks come for hosting world class events that "attract tourists and attention from around the world" (57%) and in providing green spaces, parks, and recreation facilities (55%). In addition, most residents (70%) are aware that Edmonton's economy is the fastest growing in Canada and 87% say recent population growth is a "good thing". Despite the positive assessments a strong minority (43%) agree that this city council spends "too much time and energy fighting amongst themselves".

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Edmonton Sun/CFRN poll conducted between August 29th and September 5th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 400 adult Edmontonians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Edmonton population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Edmonton population according to the 1996 Census data.

Mayor (67%) and Council (63%) Enjoy High Approval With Election on the Horizon

Both the Mayor and Council look strong heading towards the October 15th Edmonton municipal election. Currently, 67% of Edmontonians say they approve of Mayor Bill Smith's performance since he was elected in October 1998. The bulk (49%) of Edmontonians say they "moderately approve" of his performance, while one in six (17%) say they "strongly approve" of his performance. Only 30% currently disapprove of his performance. The story is similar for city council as a whole, with 63% of residents saying that they approve of council's performance since being elected in the fall of 1998. However, council's approval is slightly weaker with only 8% saying they "strongly approve" and 55% saying they "moderately approve" of council's performance. One third (34%) disapproves of council's performance.

• Bill Smith enjoys higher approval among residents under 35 (74%) than those aged 35 and over (63%).
• Mayor Smith has higher approval among those who earn $60,000 or more (75%) than among those who make less than $60,000 (63%).
• Similarly, city council has higher approval among those aged under 35 (74% vs. 57%) and those who earn $60,000 or more per year (74% vs. 60%).

Municipal Performance Highest for Hosting World Class Events (57%) and for Providing Green Spaces, Parks, and Recreation Facilities (55%)

On specific features of city life, city council performs best (57% - rate 6,7 on a 7 point scale) on hosting "world class events that attract tourists and attention from around the world like the world track and field championships" and in providing "green spaces, city parks, and recreation facilities" (55%). In the middle tier in terms of performance are issues such as providing "a positive climate for economic growth and job opportunities" (39%), "emergency services such as ambulance services" (38%) and "an effective police force that is capable of maintaining order" (36%). There are no issues where city council and the mayor perform poorly.

Residents (70%) Aware of City's Bullish Economy and Say (87%) Recent Population Growth a "Good Thing"

Most (70%) Edmontonians are aware that their city currently has the fastest growing economy in Canada and an even larger number (87%) say that Edmonton's increased population growth in recent years is generally a "good thing". This figure includes three in ten (31%) who say this increased growth is a "very good thing" and 56% who say it is a "fairly good thing". In contrast, only one in ten (12%) say the increased population growth is a "bad thing".

But Strong Minority (43%) Says Council Spends Too Much Time Fighting Amongst Itself

Despite high approval ratings, residents' attitudes towards council reveal that a strong minority (43%) agrees (rate 6 or 7 on a 7 point scale) "this city council spends too much time and energy fighting amongst themselves to concentrate on the important matters of government". Similarly, more than a quarter (28%) agree that "city council tends to react to issues, events and people without examining or thoughtfully debating the problem".

On the more positive side, 30% of residents agree "the municipal government is doing a good job attracting business to Edmonton" and a quarter (24%) agree "the municipal government is taking advantage of the city's growth for future business opportunities" and the same number (24%) agree that "Edmonton city council works well with other governments for regional co-operation". Residents are split (15% agree, 16% disagree) on whether "the municipal government effectively uses Edmontonians' tax dollars".

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Marc Henry
Vice- President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(780) 944-9164