PULSE OF TORONTO - PART 1

- PULSE OF TORONTO - - Two Thirds (66%) Of Toronto's Residents Say Mel Lastman "Deserves To Be Re-Elected" - - Overall, Lastman Receives A 'B-' For His Performance As Mayor With Highest Marks ('B') For "Defending Toronto's Interests", And Lowest Marks ('C') For "Public Behaviour" - - Homelessness (41%) Jumps 12 Points From 1998 As The Number One Issue Facing Toronto, Taxes Are Number Two At 17% - - 2 Years After Amalgamation, 2/3 (62%) Still Feel "More Attached To Their Old Municipality"; Majority (56%) Applaud Crackdown On Squeegee Kids -

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The data collected from these 1,514 interviews were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's region and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to 1996 Census data.

These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Toronto population according to the 1996 Census data. With a sample of 400, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within +4.9 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Toronto population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

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This Angus Reid Group/CFRB/Globe and Mail Pulse of Toronto Poll shows that two-thirds (66%) of residents in the new city of Toronto believe Mel Lastman should be re-elected. Overall, combining the public's appraisal of Lastman's performance on six criteria ranging from defending the city's interests to public behaviour, he receives a grade of B- for his performance as the first ever Mayor of the new city of Toronto. "Defending Toronto's interests" (B) is the area in which he received highest grades from the public. When asked which issues they feel are most deserving of attention from Mayor Lastman and City Council, 4 in 10 (41%) mentioned homelessness, a jump of 12 points from 1998. Finally, two years after amalgamation, two thirds (62%) still feel "more attached to their old municipality", while one third (33%) say they feel "more connected to the new city of Toronto".

These are the primary findings of a poll undertaken by the Angus Reid Group on behalf of CFRB and the Globe and Mail. The poll was conducted on October 25th and 26th, 1999 among a randomly selected sample of 400 residents of the new city of Toronto and has an associated margin of error of +4.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Two Thirds (66%) Of Toronto's Residents Say Mel Lastman "Deserves To Be Re-Elected"

Two thirds (66%) of residents in the new city of Toronto believe "Mel Lastman has accomplished a lot of good in the city of Toronto - he has stayed true to his word and deserves to be re-elected". Less than 3 in 10 (28%) believed that he "has done all he can do and it is time for another mayor to take over and run the city".

• Younger residents, aged 18 to 34 (73%) are stronger in their support for Mayor Lastman to be re-elected than older residents (62%).
• Men (32%) are more likely than women (25%) to suggest that it is "time for another mayor"; however, the majority of men and women would still rather see Mr. Lastman re-elected (men, 63%, women, 68%).

Overall, Lastman Receives A B- For His Performance As The Mayor Of The New City Of Toronto

Overall, Mr. Lastman receives a B- for his performance as mayor. Respondents were asked to give a grade of A, B, C, D or F on particular aspects of his job. He received his highest average marks in "defending Toronto's interests" with a strong B. Other grades included a B- for his "leadership", a B- for "having a vision for the future of Toronto", a C+ for "Managing City Council", a C+ for "Amalgamation" and a C for his "public behaviour".

• Three quarters (76%) of Toronto residents gave an A (44%) or B (32%) to Lastman for his efforts in "defending Toronto's interests". Most notably, higher income respondents (over $60k, 82%) are most likely to give top marks for his performance in this area. Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a B.
• Again, Mayor Lastman's approval ratings for leadership are generally quite high with 74% assigning an A (38%) or B (36%) to his performance. Older residents (55+, 81%) and men (77%) tend to give slightly higher than average marks for the mayor's leadership. Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a B-.
• On "having a vision for the future", seven in ten (69%) gave Mr. Lastman an A (35%) or B (34%). However, lower income respondents (77% versus average of 69%) were more likely to assign high marks to him for "providing a vision of the future for Toronto". Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a B-.
• Nearly six in ten (57%) gave Lastman top marks (A 16%, B 40%) for his ability to manage City Council. Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a C+.
• Mayor Lastman's performance in dealing with the amalgamation is given top marks (A 19%, B 32%) by half (52%) of city residents. Men (60%) are far more likely than women (45%) as are high-income earners (61%) to assign top grades in this category. Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a C+.
• Public behaviour is an area in which Mr. Lastman does not fare as well as other areas tested. Four in ten (43%) give him top marks (A 16%, B 27%) in this category. Lastman's average grade on this particular performance criteria is a C.

Homelessness - Mentioned By 4 In 10 (41%), Jumps 12 Points From 1998 As The Most Important Issue Facing The New City Of Toronto

When asked which issues they feel are most deserving of attention from Mayor Lastman and City Council, 4 in 10 (41%) mentioned homelessness, a jump of 12 points from 1998, followed by taxes at 17% - down 9 points since it was the number one issue in 1998. Other issues of importance to the residents of Toronto include: transportation (16%), education (11%) , crime (7%), healthcare (7%), squeegee kids (5%), amalgamation (5%) and poverty (5%).

• The highest levels of concern for homelessness are expressed by those who are under 54 years old (43%) and women (45%) who are most likely to mention homelessness as one of the most important issues facing the city of Toronto.

2 Years After Amalgamation, 2/3 (62%) Still Feel "More Attached To Their Old Municipality"

Two years after amalgamation, two thirds (62%) of Toronto residents still feel "more attached to their old municipality", while the other third (33%) say they feel "more connected to the new city of Toronto".

• Men (36%) are slightly more likely than women (30%) to suggest they feel closer to the new city of Toronto.
• Respondents who earn less than $30k per year (20%) are the least likely to suggest they feel it better connected to the new city of Toronto rather than their old municipality.

In fact, when asked whether "the level of attachment they felt toward their community had increased, decreased or stayed the same since amalgamation", three quarters (75%) say their level of attachment to their community has stayed the same. Another 14% say their attachment to their community has increased since amalgamation. Only one in ten (10%) suggest their attachment to their community has decreased. In addition, most (79%) indicate that they are satisfied with the "level of services provided by the city of Toronto". However, the satisfaction is luke warm as 64% say they are "somewhat satisfied" and only 15% are "very satisfied".

• Respondents in households earning more than $60k per year (73%) are the least likely to say they are satisfied with the city's services.

Finally, seven in ten (70%) say the city is just as clean (65%) or cleaner (5%) than it was before the amalgamation. Other Issues Affecting The City Of Toronto

Mel Lastman has publicly stated that he is in full support of the provincial government cracking down on squeegee kids in Toronto. Indeed, the majority of Toronto residents (56%) agree "with the Harris government's crackdown on squeegee kids". On the other hand, a strong majority (40%) indicate that they disagree with a crackdown on squeegee kids.

Another issue Mayor Lastman has discussed publicly is that the Federal government should compensate the city of Toronto for refugees that are accepted into the country and Toronto. When asked how they felt, nearly six in ten (58%) agreed that "Mel Lastman is right when he says we should ban refugees and immigrants from coming here until the Federal government starts giving the city of Toronto money to accommodate them". Again, a strong minority (39%) disagree with this tactic.

• Those aged 55 years or older (73%) are most likely to agree with refusing refugees until the Federal government compensates the municipality.
• Men (42%) are more likely than women (36%) to disagree with this stance.

For further information contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900
John Wright The Angus Reid Group is Canada's largest and most well known Canadian research company. Established in 1979 by Dr. Angus Reid, the company serves 1200 clients via its six offices in Canada, four offices in the United States and its European office in London, England. With a compliment of 250 full time qualitative and quantitative researchers, the company has annual revenues of $65 Million and is growing at an average rate of 30 percent per year. The employee owned company also operates its own field service entity, Direct Reid, utilizing 450 CATI telephone interviewing stations for north American calling and a 50,000 household consumer panel in Canada.