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.