Mayor Larry Campbell Has Lots Of Friends

Vancouver, BC -- A new Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of The Globe and Mail shows that Mayor Larry Campbell continues to enjoy an enviable approval rating among residents of the City of Vancouver. Slightly more than seven-in-ten (72%) Vancouverites say they approve of the overall performance of Mayor Larry Campbell, an improvement of 4-points from a similar survey taken in November 2003. The Mayor outshines (by 9 points) Vancouver City Council in job performance, although City Council still receives favourable reviews from slightly more than six-in-ten (63%, up 5 points) Vancouverites.

Vancouverites are split on the impact the current Mayor and Council have had on the City since they were first elected in November 2002, although the trend is becoming more positive. Currently, three-in-ten (28%, up 3 points) residents say the City is in "better shape", compared to two-in-ten (18%, down 8 points) who say the City is in "worse shape" than before Mayor Campbell and Council took office. The largest number of residents says the City is in the "same shape" (51%, up 3 points).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid telephone poll conducted March 8th to 15th, 2005 with a randomly selected sample of 300 adult City of Vancouver residents. The results are considered accurate to within 1775.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire Vancouver adult 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 City of Vancouver population according to the 2001 Census.

Seven-in-Ten (72%) Vancouverites Approve of Campbell's Performance As Mayor

Vancouverites continue to give high marks to Larry Campbell for the job he is doing as mayor. More than seven-in-ten (72%, up 4 points from November 2003) say they approve of his performance including two-in-ten (20%) who "strongly approve" and half (52%) who "somewhat approve". In contrast, only one-quarter (24%, down 4 points) of Vancouverites disapprove of Campbell's performance as mayor, including one-in-ten (10%) who "strongly disapprove" and 14% who "somewhat disapprove".

Campbell's approval rating is equally strong with men and women (73% and 71% approve, respectively).

City Council (63%) Also Has Majority Approval

The Mayor outshines (by 9 points) City Council as a whole in job performance, although City Council still garners favourable reviews from more than six-in-ten (63%, up 5-points from November 2003) Vancouverites. Slightly fewer than one-in-ten (7%) "strongly approve" of Council's performance and more than half (55%) "somewhat approve". City Council's disapproval rating stands at 31% (down 4 points), with 12% of residents who say they "strongly disapprove" of Council's performance and 20% who "somewhat disapprove".

Unlike Mayor Larry Campbell, Vancouver City Council has a gender gap. Their approval rating is much higher among women than among men (72% and 54%, respectively).

Residents Split On Whether Vancouver Is Now In Better (28%), Worse (18%) Or Same (51%) Shape

Vancouverites have divergent, but increasingly positive, views on whether their City is better off or worse off than before Mayor Campbell and City Council took office. Three-in-ten (28%, up 3 points) think Vancouver is now in "better shape", while two-in-ten (18%, down 8 points) think Vancouver is now in "worse shape" than when Campbell and City Council were first elected. Half (51%, up 3 points) of residents think their City is in "about the same shape" as when Campbell and City Council were first elected.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Peter Weylie
Associate Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Corporation
604.257.3200
[email protected]

Ipsos-Reid
Ipsos-Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos-Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada--including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country--all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos-Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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