Torontonians now consider the scandal surrounding Mayor Rob Ford to be the most important issue facing the city today, according to a new poll by Ipsos Reid.
The online poll found that 26 per cent of respondents listed the controversy surrounding the mayor as the most pressing issue facing the city. The usually hot-button topic of transit was second with 20 per cent of respondents listing it as the most important issue, while infrastructure was third with 12 per cent of respondents identifying it as their top issue. Taxes (7 per cent), affordability (7 per cent), the economy (6 per cent), crime (4 per cent), municipal spending (4 per cent), social assistance (3 per cent), health care (3 per cent), city growth (2 per cent) and the environment (1 per cent) rounded out the list.
“It would appear that the trials and tribulations of Mayor Rob Ford – not any substantive policy, service or structural issue – is considered the most important local issue facing Toronto,” a press release accompanying the results of the poll states.
The poll, which was conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 12, also found that only 34 per cent of respondents trust Ford with the mayor ranking poorly when compared with other public officials in that category.
Police Chief Bill Blair (73 per cent), MP and rumored mayoral candidate Olivia Chow (65 per cent), radio personality and rumoured mayoral candidate John Tory (61 per cent), TTC Chair Karen Stintz (55 per cent), Premier Kathleen Wynne (54 per cent), Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly (47 per cent), Coun. Adam Vaughan (43 per cent) and Prime Minister Stephen Harper (42 per cent) all had higher trustworthiness figures than Ford. Coun. Doug Ford was the least trusted official included in the poll, with just 30 per cent of respondents saying he had their trust.
The poll also asked respondents whether or not they approve of the job being done by a number of public officials and Ford again fared poorly.
The mayor had a 40 per cent approval rating compared to an 80 per cent approval rating for Police Chief Bill Blair, a 74 per cent approval rating for the local councillor of the respondent and a 57 per cent approval rating for council as a whole. Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly had a 66 per cent approval rating and TTC Chair and rumoured mayoral candidate Karen Stintz had a 65 per cent approval rating. City hall reporters, who have come under fire by the mayor, had an approval rating of 64 per cent.
The poll, which was conducted on behalf of CTV News, CP24 and Newstalk 1010, is considered accurate to within 4.3 per cent.
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