Toronto voters are divided along generational lines when it comes to issues of policing and law and order, though age is less of a factor when it comes to social services and transit projects, data from CBC Toronto's Vote Compass survey suggests.

The most apparent chasm between baby boomers (aged 55 and above) and millennials (aged 18 to 34) emerges on the question of whether Toronto police officers should be able to march in uniform as part of the Pride parade.

Some 69 per cent of baby boomers agreed that police should be allowed, while a full 48 per cent of boomer respondents "strongly agreed."

That contrasts with only 51 per cent of millennial voters who agreed, though the majority of those who agreed did so strongly, the data shows.

The findings, along with all others included in this article, are based on 16,548 respondents who participated in the voter engagement survey between Oct. 3 and 18, 2018.

The apparent division is not particularly unexpected. The participation of uniformed officers in the parade has been a deeply polarizing issue for more than two years, after Black Lives Matter protesters temporarily halted the procession in 2016. Uniformed police were banned entirely from the parade last summer.

The organization responsible for the annual celebration reversed its position last week, revealing that members of the force will be allowed to walk in uniform in next year's parade if the service meets basic entry requirements.

A similarly strong divide between baby boomer and millennial voters materialized over the proposal that "Toronto should install more surveillance systems in public spaces."

Amid a perceived spike in gun violence in the city this spring and summer, city council tentatively approved the introduction of audio surveillance devices that automatically alert police to the sound of gunfire. The technology is just one of a host of enhanced surveillance tactics already in use in some U.S. cities.

Among boomers, 61 per cent said they agreed that more systems should be considered, while only 40 per cent of millennials agreed.

Respondents aged 55 and older similarly expressed considerably more support for the proposition that "city officials should be able to evict people from social housing if they are convicted of a serious crime." Some 38 per cent of them strongly agreed, while another 28 per cent somewhat agree. Only 51 per cent of millennials agreed.

Support for social services, transit among both age groups

Beyond some deeply divisive policy questions surrounding policing, age was less a factor in respondent's answers than many might assume.

"I would say that the differences between age groups in this Toronto election are a bit smaller than I would have expected," said Charles Breton, research director at Vox Pop Labs, which created Vote Compass.

He pointed to Ontario's recent provincial election, where generational differences on comparable proposals were generally more pronounced.

"We don't see these large gaps in the Toronto context," Breton explained.

This was especially apparent when it came to questions on various social services and transit projects. This is not entirely surprising, Breton said, as these particular issues are often driven by factors like geography and income as opposed to age.

A generational divide was not necesarrily evident among respondents when it came to transit issues like the Scarborough subway extension. (John Rieti/CBC)

For example, there was a considerable consensus on the statement: "City hall should cut public services to reduce spending."

Among baby boomer respondents, 76 per cent disagreed overall, while a full 80 per cent of millennials disagreed. Similar trends were apparent in answers to questions on increasing the number of safe injection sites in the city and provided more shelter beds for the city's homeless population.

Age also had little influence on how respondents felt about tearing down the eastern stretch of the Gardiner Expressway — a policy proposal that features prominently in the campaign of mayor candidate and former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat.

Similarly, age had no discernible impact on whether respondents support the Scarborough subway extension, a hugely polarizing, $3.35-billion project that has spawned some of the most tense clashes between politicians at city hall. ​

The front runner for the mayor's seat, incumbent candidate John Tory, has put his support behind the subway extension, while some of his more progressive rivals on council have staunchly opposed it.

Toronto voters go the polls on Oct. 22.

For more on the Vote Compass's methodology, read below:

Unlike online opinion polls, respondents to Vote Compass are not pre-selected. Similar to opinion polls, however, the data are a non-random sample from the population and have been weighted in order to approximate a representative sample. Vote Compass data have been weighted by gender, age, education, language and region to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the actual population of Toronto according to census data and other population estimates.