Most Toronto residents strongly oppose Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause to try to slash the size of city council by nearly half, a new Mainstreet Research poll shows.

With just over a month before the Oct. 22 municipal election, the Progressive Conservatives are pushing to pass Bill 31, the Efficient Local Government Act, that would reduce city council from 47 seats to 25.

The polling firm found that 65 per cent of Toronto residents oppose the premier’s move to use the constitutional override clause, with nearly 56 per cent saying they strongly disapprove.

“Make no mistake about it: Doug Ford is on the wrong side of public opinion when it comes to his use of the notwithstanding clause,” Quito Maggi, President and CEO of Mainstreet Research, said in a news release.

Further to the controversial use of the clause, more than 55 per cent of respondents said they disapprove of the decision to eliminate council seats, with 46 per cent saying they strongly disagree.

This staunch objection to both issues stretches consistently across Toronto, including Scarborough and Ford’s home neighbourhood, Etobicoke.

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The only exception was North York, where pollsters found a narrower divide between those who strongly approve and those who denounce the moves.

In the lead-up to the municipal election, voters are concerned about accountability and transparency, the poll shows. When asked about their top priorities, respondents ranked the topic in third place at 13.4 per cent out of nine categories, trailing crime and safety at 16 per cent and housing affordability at 21.3 per cent.

The poll also dug into mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat’s suggestion that Toronto should become autonomous from the province. On July 26, the same day Ford announced Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act that was struck down as unconstitutional a week ago by Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba, the former city planner tweeted the word “secession.”

Even with Torontonians opposing the Ford government’s decision, residents disagree with the idea of Toronto seceding from the province. Forty-three per cent strongly disapproved when asked if Toronto should act as an autonomous city within Canada.

“Keesmaat was right to walk back her idea for Toronto secession because Toronto voters are almost as opposed to the notion as the premier using the notwithstanding clause,” Maggi said.

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The Ontario government could pass the Bill 31 as early as Thursday.

The survey was conducted on Sept. 15 and 16 among a sample of 802 adults living in Toronto. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.46 percentage points and is considered accurate 19 times out of 20.

Stefanie Marotta is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @StefanieMarotta

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