A new poll from analysts at Liaison Strategies has incumbent Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow with a double-digit lead over her main opponent Brad Bradford in the city’s upcoming mayoral election.
The poll, which was released Wednesday morning, finds Olivia Chow leading the race with 50 per cent of support among decided and leaning voters compared to Brad Bradford with 39 per cent, and Chris Alexander in a distant third place with 10 per cent.
Analysts say Chow also holds a 51 per cent approval rating when it comes to her performance as mayor, while 45 per cent disapprove.
“Torontonians are nearly evenly divided on the city’s direction: 47 per cent say right direction and 48 per cent say wrong direction,” Daniel Burtnick of Liaison Strategies wrote in a statement.
The poll was conducted through surveys done with 1,000 Toronto residents by phone on Sept. 4 and 5. The results carry a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The poll also looked at the city’s property-tax rate, service priorities, TTC use since the pandemic, and what would encourage residents to take transit more often.
Around a third of respondents said they feel taxes should be frozen or reduced, even if that means cutting back on some City services. When asked which services justify an increase, respondents listed their top three areas of concern as affordable housing and homelessness services, public transit and police, fire and paramedic services.
As for the TTC, slightly less than 40 per cent of respondents said they ride on the buses, streetcars and subway lines about as often as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, but 29 per cent said they ride it less often, with the majority citing changes to their school or work routine.
Respondents listed more frequent, reliable service and improved personal safety as factors that would encourage ridership.