Tory leads Ford by 20 points in approval, for best mayor

| Filed under: Toronto

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.