Half Now Opposed to
Cutting Council Size
Majority disagree Province should have
power to redraw wards
Toronto, August 28th 2018 – In a random sampling of
public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1242 Toronto voters, half (BTM2:
52%) say they are opposed to reducing the size of council, with 4 in 10 (41%)
saying they are strongly opposed. Opposition to the cut has risen five points
since the end of July (July 27, BTM: 47%).
A third (TOP2: 36%) say they are in favour of reducing the size of
council, with a quarter (27%) saying they are strongly in favour.
About 1 in 10 (9%) say that they neither support, nor oppose, while
few (2%) say they do not know.
Opinion
divided on the City’s legal challenge
Just over 4 in 10 (BTM2: 44%) say they are opposed to the legal
challenge, with a third (34%) saying they are strongly opposed.
A similar proportion say they support the legal challenge, with 4 In
10 (TOP2: 39%), with a third saying they strongly support the legal challenge.
1 in 10 (11%) say they neither support nor oppose, while few (5%)
say they do not know.
Opinion
divided on the City’s legal challenge
Just over 4 in 10 (BTM2: 44%) say they are opposed to the legal challenge,
with a third (34%) saying they are strongly opposed.
A similar proportion say they support the legal challenge, with 4 In
10 (TOP2: 39%), with a third saying they strongly support the legal challenge.
1 in 10 (11%) say they neither support nor oppose, while few (5%)
say they do not know.
Opinion
also split on Toronto imposing taxes and tolls
4 in 10 (TOP2: 40%) say they agree that Toronto should have the
power to impose its own taxes, with one-fifth (21%) saying they strongly agree.
A similar proportion (BTM2: 38%) say that they disagree that Toronto
should have the power to impose its own taxes, with a quarter (27%) saying they
strongly disagree.
About one-sixth (17%) say they neither agree nor disagree, while few
(5%) say they do not know whether Toronto should be able to impose its own
taxes or not.
Results for whether the City should be able to impose its own tolls
see a similar divide to taxes, with 4 in 10 (TOP2: 42%) saying the City should
be able to impose its own tolls, with a quarter (25%) saying they strongly
agree.
A similar proportion (BTM2: 41%) say that they disagree that the
City should be able to impose its own tolls, with a third (31%) saying they
disagree strongly.
One-sixth (14%) say they neither agree nor disagree, and few (4%)
say they do not know whether Toronto should be able to impose its own tolls or
not.
Many say cities in Ontario should have
more independence of Province
A quarter (23%) say cities
in Ontario should have much more power independent of the province, while a
third (30%) say it should have somewhat more power.
About 1 in 10 (9%) say
cities should have less power independent of the province, while a similar
proportion (12%) say it should have somewhat less power.
About one-fifth (22%) say
the power balance between cities and the province is okay as it is currently,
feeling cities neither need more, nor less power.
Few (5%) say they do not
know.
Two-thirds say council should focus on
gun crime, not size
The majority (68%) says
council should focus on gun crime, while a third (32%) says the focus should be
on council size.
Respondents most likely to
say that council should focus on gun crime include those aged 55-64 (76%) or 65+ (73%), females
(72%), living in East York (74%), and Liberal voters (77%).
Respondents most likely to
say size of council should be the focus include those aged 34 and younger (32%)
or 35-44 (36%), males (36%), living in York (42% n=57), and NDP Voters (42%).
“Opposition to the
reduction of Toronto city council is growing, with more voters saying they are
opposed than at this time last month,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of
Forum Research. “However, opinions on the city’s legal challenge are roughly
evenly divided, with more or less equal numbers saying they support and oppose
it. Might some of those opposed to the cut see it as a done deal?”
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.
