Almost Two-Thirds Disapprove of Forcing Police to March in Pride Out of Uniform

Almost Two-Thirds Disapprove of Forcing Police to March in Pride Out of Uniform

Plurality believe Toronto police should march in New York Pride

Toronto, May 31^st – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1035 Toronto voters, almost two-thirds (61%) disapprove of Pride Toronto’s statement that police officers are prohibited from marching in the pride parade in their police uniform. Just under a quarter (23%) approve of the statement, while (16%) say they do not know.

Respondents most likely to say they disapprove include those aged 55-64 (74%), males (65%), the most wealthy (72%), with a college/university (63%) or post-graduate degree (61%), and living in East York (68%).

Respondents most likely to say they approve include those aged 35-44 (33%), the least wealthy (32%), and living in the Former City of Toronto (26%) or York (27%).

March in Pride, but in New York City: plurality

Almost a third (32%) believe that the Toronto Police should accept the invitation from the New York City Police to march with them in the New York Pride Parade.

Just over a quarter (28%) say that Toronto Police should march in the Toronto Pride Parade, but do so out of uniform.

Just under a quarter (24%) believe the Toronto Police should skip pride altogether this year.

(16%) say they do not know how they feel about the Toronto Police and pride.

Pride supported overall

More than half (57%) of respondents approve of pride in general, with just over a quarter (28%) saying that they disapprove. Fewer than 2 in 10 (16%) say that they do not know.

These results are similar to April 6^th, when we saw approval for Pride at (58%), disapproval at (25%), and (17%) saying do not know.

Respondents most likely to approve of pride include those aged 34 and younger (69%), the most wealthy (67%), with a college/university (60%) or post-graduate degree (58%), and living in the Former City of Toronto (69%). 

Respondents most likely to disapprove of pride include those aged 35-44 (31%), 45-54 (30%), 55-64 (29%), and 65+ (31%), the least educated (36%), and living in North York (30%), Etobicoke (32%) or Scarborough (32%). 

Half approve of Pride Toronto’s statement that police are not banned

Half (50%) of respondents approve of the fact Toronto Pride clarified that police are not banned from the Pride Parade. A quarter (25%) disapprove of the fact that the police are not banned, with a quarter (25%) saying they do not know. 

“While people appreciate Pride Toronto’s clarification that the Toronto Police aren’t banned from marching in their parade, disapproval of the Pride Parade has increased slightly, and the fact that the police are prohibited from marching in uniform is highly unpopular,” 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.