Tory
leads Ford by 20 points in approval, for best mayor
Little appetite for a sales tax
TORONTO, February
22nd, 2015 - In
a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 807 Toronto
voters, Mayor John Tory’s approval remains very high, and stable (January 25 -
67%, February 21 - 65%) and his approval as mayor currently exceeds Rob Ford’s
approval as councillor by 20 points (Tory - 65%, Ford - 45%). Tory’s approval
is especially characteristic of the oldest and wealthier in the downtown.
Ford’s approval is stronger among the mid aged, the less wealthy and those in
municipalities other than the downtown.
Tory preferred to Ford as mayor by 20 points
More
than half of Toronto voters prefer John Tory as mayor (54%) to Rob Ford (34%).
One tenth can’t choose (12%). The groups which prefer each are those that
approve of each.
Little approval for Toronto sales tax
Fewer
than a quarter of Toronto voters approve of a sales tax in the city when asked
directly (22%), and two thirds disapprove (66%). One tenth don’t know (13%).
Approval of a sales tax is higher among the oldest (30%), males (25%) rather
than females (18%), the wealthier ($80K to $100K - 35%, $100K to $250K - 30%)
who live in the downtown (30%). When it is explained the sales tax would be
used to balance the city’s budget and pay for infrastructure, approval
increases to 4-in-10 (39%), but half still disapprove (50%). One tenth still
don’t form an opinion (10%).
"Mayor Tory is maintaining
remarkably high approval scores, especially as we are well past the honeymoon
period, and he has already made some difficult decisions. His quick action to
keep the outdoor rinks open, and the vigil for Elijah Marsh occurred during our
field period, and that’s the kind of thing citizens like to see their mayor
doing," 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.
