Torontonians Deliver Report Card to City Hall

Toronto, ON - Mayor David Miller may have lost his lustre--dropping from 69% approval rating in 2005 to just 43% as revealed in a poll yesterday--but, almost in spite of their municipal leadership, Toronto residents assess their local neighbourhood's (82%), the city, overall (77%) and the quality of services the city provides (76%) with `good marks"

The City Report Card (which combines `A/B/C' marks as `good' and `D/F' marks as `poor'), shows the worst marks are accorded for the level of taxes paid for city services received (50%).

The survey involved over 800 Toronto residents and was conducted exclusively for the National Post, Global Television and CFRB.

Star Pupil...

But if there is a "star pupil" of the class, the highest marks go to Toronto Police Service Chief Bill Blair was appointed to the job on April 26, 2005 who gets a `good mark' of 88%.

With the highest approval rating registered for any Toronto Police Chief in the last decade, it comes at a time when the Chief and those in the thin blue line are facing significant challenges with trouble on the streets.

In October 2005, just six months as the new Chief, sixty-four percent said they approved the job he had been doing -- while 19% said it was "too soon to tell". Among those who offered either approval or disapproval of his performance (81% of Torontonians), he received an approval rating of 80%.

By comparison:

• Chief Julian Fantino's job approval rating was 78% in January of 2002, 78% in 2003 and dropped to 65% in 2004
• Chief David Boothby, was at 74% in 1998

Passing Grades for all, but...

While all areas studied get a passing grade, it's clear that few give top marks (A/B) and may provide evidence for the results in yesterday's poll showing that a majority (57%) of Torontonians believe the city of Toronto is `headed in the wrong direction', with only four in ten (43%) believing it's `on the right track'.

• The level of taxes for city services you receive - three quarters (74%) give a passing grade of A (4%), B (17%), C (30%) or D (23%), but one quarter (26%) say the leadership deserves an F for fail for the level of taxes they pay for services received.
• The quality of services the city provides - Nine in ten (91%) give a passing grade of A (4%), B (35%), C (37%), D (15%) to the quality of services they city provides, while one in ten (9%) say the leadership receives an F in this regard.
• Your local neighbourhood - Nine in ten (93%) think that their local neighbourhood deserves a passing grade of A (11%), B (40%), C (31%) or D (11%). Only 7% say their local neighbourhood deserves a failing grade of F.
• The city, overall - All in all, nine in ten (89%) Torontonians have given the city, overall, a passing grade of A (7%), B (33%), C (38%), D (13%), while one in ten (11%) give the city a failing grad of F.

The Job the Police Chief is doing is the exception...

• The job the police chief is doing - Almost all (96%) Torontonians have given Police Chief Bill Blair a passing grade of A (18%), B (44%), C (26%) or D (9%). Just 4% say he fails the grade.

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.

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

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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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