High approval for Watson, very high approval for Bordeleau

| Filed under: Ontario

High approval for Watson, very high approval for Bordeleau

Gangs, traffic, and guns are biggest concerns; just one tenth very satisfied with council

TORONTO December 21st, 2015 - In a random sampling of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 812 Ottawa voters, as many as three quarters approve of the job Jim Watson is doing as mayor (73%), and this is especially the case among the mid aged (35 to 44 - 79%), the wealthiest (77%), and those with the highest education (post grad - 80%). Approval for police chief Charles Bordeleau is even higher (80%) and is especially common to the oldest (84%), the wealthiest (89%)and the best educated (post grad - 82%).

Gangs are biggest concern, followed by traffic and guns

Voters are asked their level of concern about issues in Ottawa. The issue which raises the highest level of concern (46% very concerned) is youth gangs, and this fear is especially common to the oldest (55+ - 60%), property owners (51%) and the least educated (57%).

Next on the list is traffic congestion (44% very concerned) and this is characteristic of older voters (55 to 64 - 48%), higher income ($80K to $100K - 48%) and those with some college or university (49%).

Traffic is followed by the availability of guns in the city (42% very concerned), especially among the oldest (55+ - 62%), females (46%), mid income groups ($40K to $60K - 46%) and among the less educated (some college or less - 51%).

After these three concerns come the city’s budget deficit (75% concerned overall, 39% very concerned) and conditions at the Innes Road Jail (overall concerned - 57%, very concerned - 29 percent).

Satisfaction in progress of LRT low, worse for city council

Ottawa voters are asked if they are satisfied with the progress being made on the LRT project, and one fifth are very satisfied (21%), while 6-in-10 are satisfied overall (60%). The service levels on OC Transpo fare more poorly here and just more than one tenth are very satisfied (14%). Satisfaction is highest among those who use transit weekly (25%), which is also the case for satisfaction with the progress of the LRT (25%). City council draws satisfaction from just one tenth of voters (12%), although those with the most positive views tend to be wealthier ($80K to $100K - 20%), the less wealthy ($20K to $40K - 23%) and mothers (18%).

Majority approve of Communism Memorial decision

A majority of Ottawa voters agree with the decision to relocate the Victims of Communism memorial from the planned location to the Garden of the Provinces and Territories (51%), and just 3-in-10 disapprove of this decision (30%). One fifth have no opinion (19%).

 “While it is encouraging that traffic congestion is a greater concern than guns, yet, the low ratings for satisfaction given city transit, and city council, should set alarm bells ringing,” said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff.

Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.