Housing Biggest Concern
for a Third of Torontonians
And more than half would see term limits on city councilors
Toronto, April 6th
– In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 840
Toronto voters, (33%) percent say the cost of housing is the biggest problem
facing Toronto right now. Public Transit (18%) is a distant second choice, 15
points behind.
Traffic (13%) and
Infrastructure such as roads and bridges (11%) are an issue for some, fewer see
City Council (8%) as a problem. Crime (6%) and Property Taxes (5%) are not seen
to be significant issues. (4%) say that Toronto has “other” problems, and (3%) do
not know.
Respondents most
likely to say that housing is Toronto’s biggest problem include the youngest,
aged 34 and below (47%), the least wealthy (48%), with some college/university
(37%), that drive to work or school (35%), and supporting the NDP (46%).
Respondents most likely
to say public transit is Toronto’s biggest problem include those aged 35-44
(21%) or 45-54 (18%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (24%), with a post-graduate
degree (24%), that take public transit to work or school (28%), living in the
former City of Toronto (25%), supporting John Tory for Mayor (23%), and the
Liberals (24%).
5-in-10 want term limits for city council
More than half (56%)
of Toronto voters say there should be a limit on the number of consecutive
terms a city councilor can serve. (29%) say no, there should be no term limits,
and (15%) say they don’t know.
Respondents most
likely to say councilors need term limits include those aged 55-64 (65%),
earning $60,000-$80,000 (68%), with some college/university (56%), a college/university
degree (58%), or a post-graduate degree (55%), living in Scarborough (62%), and
supporting the Progressive Conservatives (66%).
Respondents most
likely to say councilors don’t need term limits include those aged 34 or
younger (34%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (37%) or the most wealthy (36%),
supporting John Tory (34%), or the Liberals (34%).
Limiting chain stores in Toronto not a priority
More than a third
(35%) would oppose the limiting of chain stores in Toronto through a retail
strategy. 3-in-10 (30%) would support such a decision, but a high proportion of
respondents (35%) don’t know whether they would support or oppose such a
policy.
Respondents most
likely to oppose this retail strategy include males (44%), earning
$60,000-$80,000 (37%), $80,000-$100,000 (39%), or the most wealthy (40%), and
supporting Doug Ford (43%) or the Progressive Conservatives (47%).
Respondents most
likely to support this retail strategy include those aged 34 and younger (35%)
or 45-54 (32%), with a post-graduate degree (37%), and supporting the NDP (39%).
“The cost of housing
is an issue of concern for many Torontonians, particularly the most vulnerable:
the youngest and the least wealthy. We’ve already seen that Ontarians would
support a foreign buyer’s tax on housing in the GTA, and with the Federal
Finance Minister requesting a meeting with the Provincial Minister and the
Mayor, perhaps finally we’ll see some attempt to curb prices in Toronto,” said
Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research
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.
