Mayoral candidates in Mississauga aren't just competing with each other -- they also have to contend with their Toronto counterparts, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by Main Street Technologies for Mississauga mayoral candidate Steven Mahoney, asked respondents how they would vote in three different scenarios.
In the first, residents were asked how they would vote between Mississauga mayoral candidates Mahoney and Bonnie Mahoney, and Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow.
The second scenario replaced Chow with Toronto mayoral candidate Doug Ford. In the third, Ford was replaced with Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory.
“We have felt, from what we have seen at the doors, that there is a spillover from the Toronto activities and the coverage in the municipal election, and we wanted to see how much of a reality it really was,” Mahoney told CP24 of the inclusion of the Toronto candidates Friday night.
In the first scenario, Chow received 14 per cent support.
Ford and Tory earned 23 per cent and 21 per cent support, respectively, in their scenarios.
“It’s not a matter of trying to confuse anybody, it’s just trying to find out what are people thinking about, and what is the impact of the noise that comes out of the Toronto media,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney finished in top spot in all three scenarios with Crombie second, according to the poll.
“I think the results of these polls show that I’m in the lead in all three cases, whether it’s John Tory added to the mix, or Doug Ford or Olivia Chow,” he said.
“People realize that following 36 years of Hazel McCallion, they need a strong, steady leader to take over.”
The telephone poll of 824 Mississauga residents is considered accurate to within 3.41 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
There are currently 16 candidates running for mayor in Mississauga, according to the City of Mississauga's municipal elections website.
