GTA Residents Say Cost of Housing (38%), Infrastructure (39%), Crime (39%) and Taxes (45%) Top Their List of Municipal Election Priorities

Toronto, ON, September 12, 2018 — The cost of housing (38%) sits atop the list of municipal-election issues that are driving the voting intentions of GTA residents, along with infrastructure (39%) (i.e. municipal roads, sewers, etc), crime (39%) and municipal taxes (45%), according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of TREB and BILD. Respondents were given a list of 10 possible priorities and asked to pick up to three that are most important in determining how they will vote. Further down the list are public transit (28%), social services (27%), traffic and commute times (24%), growth, planning and zoning (23%), recreation and leisure facilities (9%) (parks, sports, etc.) or some other issue (7%).

Housing affordability is a particularly-important issue for women (43%) more than men (32%), and for Millennials (48%) and Gen X’ers (42%) compared to Boomers (25%). The issue also resonates with those living in York Region (42%), Toronto (39%) and Peel (39%) more than Durham (31%) and Halton (29%). Those living with their parents (50%) and renters (62%) are also more inclined to say this is a top election issue for them – in fact, for renters, it is the number-one issue of the campaign.

Thinking about priorities after new city councils are elected in October, eight in ten (82%) say that the new municipal government should make addressing the cost of home ownership a priority (33% top priority/50% moderate priority). Just 18% think it should be a low priority (14%) or no priority at all (4%) for the incoming councils.

Moreover, fully one half (51%) of GTA residents are very concerned about the ability of today’s young people to be able to afford to buy a home, with another 35% being somewhat concerned about affordability for future generations (85% total concerned). Concern rises to 94% among Millennials (65% very concerned), and 91% in Peel Region (56% very concerned).

What is driving this concern? Nine in ten (92%) GTA residents agree (57% strongly/35% somewhat) that the dream of home ownership is becoming more difficult to achieve for young people living in their city, and most (86%) agree (43% strongly/43% somewhat) that it is important to them that young families can afford to live and work in the GTA without having to commute over an hour to get to work. In fact, only one in three (33%) believe (8% strongly/25% somewhat) that their children (or friend’s children) will be able to afford a home in their community when they grow up.

Thinking about the supply side of the equation, just four in ten (39%) agree (9% strongly/30% somewhat) that there are enough homes being built in their city to help keep housing affordable. Similarly, only one in three (33%) agree (7%/26% somewhat) that the GTA is well prepared to provide housing for roughly 115,000 new residents that settle here every year.

The cost of housing in the GTA has impacted a majority (68%) of its residents in a variety of ways. Four in ten (40%) say it has prevented them from saving more for retirement (40%), while one in three (34%) say it has prevented them from making a major purchase or going on vacation. Others say it has prevented them from buying a home (24%), upgrading their home (20%), saving more for their children’s education (12%), having a child or another child (11%), or supporting an ageing family member (11%). Just one in three (32%) say that the cost of housing in the GTA has not prevented them from doing any of these things.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between August 20 and 23, 2018, on behalf of BILD and TREB. For this survey, a sample of 1503 adults living in the GTA was polled. 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 ±2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all GTA residents been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. 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:
Sean Simpson
Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Public Affairs

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About Ipsos

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