Toronto Residents Signal Miller Time is Over:
Mayor David Miller's Approval Rating Plummets From 69% in 2005 to 43% Today as
Majority (57%) Says City on Wrong Track

Toronto, ON - It appears that it's not just the potential stench of rotting garbage that may be in the air in Toronto, brought on by 30,000 inside and outside municipal workers who have staged a strike over such things as rolled up sick day cash-out's, affecting pretty much everything the city manages--from garbage and recycling to city daycare to summer camp programs for kids.

What also appears to be in the air is a whiff of change.

While Toronto's municipal elections aren't until the fall of 2010, a new Ipsos Reid poll of over 800 Toronto residents reveals that two term Mayor David Miller has lost his lustre--dropping from 69% approval rating in 2005 to just 43% today. Moreover, a majority (57%) of Torontonians believe that the city of Toronto is `headed in the wrong direction', while only four in ten (43%) believe that it is `on the right track'.

The findings are part of a poll conducted by Ipsos Reid for The National Post, Global Television and CFRB.

And, in testing the water for two undeclared potential candidates who could challenge the Mayor in a bid for a third term, it's clear that anything is for sure: each of the two tested in a head to head battle against the incumbent for the Mayor's chain of office shows that right now they would both beat Mr. Miller by 7 points each.

Approval for Mayor Plummets 26 Points Since 2005...

Just four in ten (43%) `approve' (11% strongly/32% somewhat) of two term Mayor David Miller's job as Mayor of Toronto, while six in ten (57%) `disapprove' (31% strongly/26% somewhat) of his performance. This compares with the results of an Ipsos Reid poll taken in October of 2005 when David Miller's approval rating was 69%.

6 in 10 Torontonians Say City is on the `Wrong Track'...

The poll also found that a majority (57%) of Torontonians believe that the city of Toronto is `headed in the wrong direction', while only four in ten (43%) believe that it is `on the right track'.

Potential Challengers...

With the next City of Toronto municipal elections to be held in 2010, potential candidates will likely be testing the waters to see if they have the support to mount a campaign for Mayor of Toronto.

There is some speculation that former mayoral candidate and Progressive Conservative leader John Tory could once again seek the job as he did in 2003. In that race, Mayor Miller defeated Mr. Tory with a popular vote of 43.26% compared to Mr. Tory who garnered 38.03%.

In addition to Mr. Tory, George Smitherman, currently the Provincial Liberal Deputy Premier and Energy Minister of Ontario, and an openly Gay politician in the heart of the Gay community of the downtown Toronto core, has had his name bandied about for a potential run for the job. While he has dismissed the notion, the poll shows that support for him is present and there is still time for him and his supporters to contemplate a run for City Hall.

There are likely to be incumbent city councillors and others who may want to mount a bid to challenge either the Mayor or the other two undeclared potential candidates above should they decide to enter the race. As intentions become apparent they will be added to future polling.

But for now, if there was an election for the Mayor of Toronto tomorrow in a head to head battle between the current Mayor David Miller and either John Tory or George Smitherman, Mr. Miller would likely be defeated:

• 34% of Torontonians would choose John Tory and 27% would support David Miller - a 7 point lead for John Tory. Four in ten (39%) wouldn't vote for either candidate.
• 28% would choose George Smitherman and 21% would choose David Miller - a 7 point lead for George Smitherman. Fully one half (50%) wouldn't vote for either candidate.

If there is a message in this poll for the Mayor right now, it's this: you're politically vulnerable and how the current showdown between you and the Unions ends up may well define battles and challengers to come over the next year. While a vote is off in the distance and there is time to rehabilitate the current perception and to define a ballot question where campaigns matter, the time to start thinking about it, as an incumbent, is clearly now.

For a full demographic breakdown of the vote, please refer to the attached tables.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted June 18-23, 2009, on behalf of the National Post, Global Television and CFRB Radio. For this survey, a national sample of 803 adults aged 18 and older living in the City of Toronto from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and 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. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire adult population 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.

The Mayor's Approval Rating by Key Demographics...

Overall, four in ten (43%) `approve' (11% strongly/32% somewhat) of David Miller's job as Mayor of Toronto, while six in ten (57%) `disapprove' (31% strongly/26% somewhat). The data reveals that the approval ratings of the mayor vary greatly by key demographics:

• Nearly one half (48%) of women `approve' of his performance as mayor, compared to just 37% of men.
• Those aged 18-34 are most likely (58%) to give the mayor their approval, while those aged 35-54 (46%) and 55+ (23%) are considerably less likely to do so.
• Those whose family earns less than $60,000 a year are more likely (46%) than those whose family earns more then $60,000 a year to approve (35%).
• Those with a university degree (56%) are among the most likely to approve of David Miller's job as mayor as are those with some postsecondary education (51%), while those with a high school diploma (34%) or no high school diploma (23%) are much less likely to approve.

Majority (57%) Thinks Toronto is Heading in the Wrong Direction...

Nearly six in ten (57%) believe that the city of Toronto, overall, is heading in the wrong direction, while just four in ten (43%) think it's on the right track. But the numbers vary based on demographic profiles:

• Men (61%) are more likely than women (54%) to believe that the city is headed in the wrong direction.
• Older Torontonians (74%) are much more inclined than middle-aged (55%) or younger Torontonians (45%) to believe that the city is headed in the wrong direction.
• Torontonians without any postsecondary education are more likely (66%) than those with some postsecondary education (51%) or a university degree (45%) to believe that Toronto is headed in the wrong direction.
• Individuals whose family earns more than $60K a year are more likely (64%) than those who earn $30K-$60K (56%) or less than $30K a year (52%) to believe the city is headed in the wrong direction.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. 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 the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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