Most Torontonians Disagree (69%) That the City Has
Good Political Leadership
At the height of the mayor's scandal, business at City Hall slowed to a snail's pace before council voted to move most of Mayor Rob Ford's powers to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly. Council did not have authority to remove the Mayor, and Queen's Park refused to step in, leaving some frustrated with the options available to them.
Most (86%) Torontonians `agree' (46% strongly/40% somewhat) that `citizens should be able to remove politicians from office if they no longer have confidence in their leadership'. Just one in ten (14%) `disagree' that citizens should be able to remove politicians from office mid-term. The power of "recall", as it is often called, was instituted in 1991 in British Columbia, but the concept has failed to gain traction among lawmakers elsewhere.
When it comes to political leadership in Toronto, those aged 18 to 34 (39%) are more likely than those aged 35 to 54 (31%) or 55+ (25%) to agree that Toronto has good leadership. Residents of Etobicoke (38%), Scarborough (34%), York/East York (33%) and North York (32%) are more likely than those living in the old city of Toronto/downtown (22%) to agree.
Regarding the power of recall, support is broad across the city, although those in Scarborough (90%) are slightly more likely than those who live in Etobicoke (86%), North York (85%), old Toronto/downtown (85%) and York/East York (82%) to agree. Fully one half (50%) of those aged 35 to 54 (50%) strongly agree that citizens should be able to remove politicians from office if they no longer have confidence in their leadership.
So Who's Best Where It Counts...
While much of the campaign has been focused on transit plans and improvements, there are many other issues that Torontonians face and the data reveal the top five issues facing city residents and who they believe would do the best job tackling these issues most important to them. On the issue of public transit, a majority (53%) of Toronto residents that say transit is their top issue believe John Tory would do the best job on it, ahead of Olivia Chow (27%), and Doug Ford (20%).
Looking at the issue of infrastructure, like roads and bridges, John Tory (57%) again has a commanding lead over both Doug Ford (31%) and Olivia Chow (12%) among Torontonians who say that infrastructure is the most important issue facing the city.
While John Tory is ahead on the scorecards for issues related to transit and infrastructure, Doug Ford (50%) is seen by half as being the best candidate to city taxes that are too high among those who cite high taxes as the city's most important issue, compared to one in three (32%) who believe John Tory would be best at this file and one in five (18%) who think the same of Olivia Chow.
Thinking about the economy, Torontonians who deem this their top issue are split on whether Doug Ford (39%) or John Tory (38%) would be best to handle it, with both placing ahead of Olivia Chow (23%).
Where Olivia Chow shines above her fellow candidates is on the issue of rent control and housing supply, with nearly half (45%) of Toronto residents citing rent control and housing supply as their top city issue identifying her as being the best to deal with it, ahead of Doug Ford (38%) and John Tory (17%).
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between September 23rd and 26th, 2014 on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,252 Torontonians (of which 1,105 are decided voters) from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. 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 +/ 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Torontonian adults 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) 509-8460
[email protected]
About 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 600 research 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--all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, visit www.ipsos.ca
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