8 in 10 Agree: Climate Change is a Big Problem For TO

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8 in 10 Agree: Climate Change is a Big Problem For TO

Two-thirds say Toronto isn’t doing enough to limit plastics

Toronto, June 10th, 2019 - In a random sampling of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1157 Toronto voters, 8 in 10 (TOP2: 81%) agree that climate change is a serious problem for Toronto, with almost two-thirds (59%) saying they agree strongly.

1 in 10 (8%) say they neither agree nor disagree.  A similar proportion (BTM2: 12%) says they disagree, with about 1 in 10 (7%) saying they disagree strongly.

Respondents most likely to say they agree (TOP2) include those aged 34 and younger (83%), aged 35-44 (85%), or 65+ (85%), females (87%), the least wealthy (88%), earning $20-40,000 (86%), or $40-60,000 (86%), with a post-graduate degree (86%).

Plastics a problem

Two-thirds (67%) say Toronto is not doing enough to limit the use of plastics.

One-fifth (18%) say that Toronto is doing enough, while 1 in 20 (6%) say that Toronto is doing more than enough. 1 in 10 (10%) say they aren't sure.

Respondents most likely to say that Toronto isn’t doing enough to limit plastic use includes those age 65+ (71%), females (71%), earning $20-40,000 (72%) or $60-80,000 (70%), living in East York (72%) or York (n=67, 74%).

Two-thirds say climate change will impact their choice of election candidates

Two-thirds (TOP2: 67%) say that climate change will impact their choice of candidate, or candidates, in upcoming elections, with 4 in 10 (43%) saying that it’s very likely to affect their choice.

A third (BTM2: 33%) say climate change isn’t likely to impact their candidate choice, with one-fifth (21%) saying it’s not likely to impact their choice at all.

Toronto divided on a green tax

About 4 in 10 (37%) say they would support a green tax paid to the City of Toronto, while a similar proportion (41%) says they would oppose a green tax paid to the city.

One-fifth (21%) say they don’t know.

Residents of the former City of Toronto (42%) are most likely to say they would support such a tax, while residents of East York (42%), North York (45%), or Scarborough (42%) are most likely to say they oppose.

“Generally, it seems like Torontonians lean toward being green, with a strong majority agreeing that climate change poses a serious problem for the city,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “They’re also likely to say climate change will affect which candidates they’re going to support in upcoming elections, but where the city is divided is on a green tax. Support and opposition for a green tax in Toronto is almost even, with the slightest edge leaning toward opposition.”

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.