Nearly half of Torontonians oppose Ford's plan to cut city council, poll suggests

Nearly half of Torontonians disapprove both Premier Doug Ford and his plan to significantly reduce the size of the City Council, while one-third is in favor of reducing the number of neighborhoods, according to a new Forum Research poll

. 19% of respondents to the survey are neutral on the idea or do not know how to feel it. Meanwhile, 70% of Torontonians say they would vote for Mayor John Tory if an election were held today, which would give him an edge over Jennifer Keesmaat, a last-minute mayoral candidate, who had the support of 30% of respondents. [19659003"JenniferKeesmaataprovidedbondedbaynotmakehisvalueoftheviewpoint"saidLorneBozinoffpresidentoftheForumResearchquiamenondesondageEllen'asnotasrecognitionofthesameJohnTorybutthoughtthatwasnotmakeintelleagainsthelefthandhole"

But Tory, he added, has a" very very high "approval rating of 56%. hundred. "It means it's going to be hard to beat, no matter who's running."

Poll polled 1,328 randomly selected Torontonians who responded to a telephone survey on Friday when the city made the explosive decision Ford to redraw the boundaries of the neighborhoods a few months before the autumn civil elections, and the surprise entry of Keesmaat in the mayoral race. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, 19 times out of 20, and the survey included both landlines and cell phones.

Support for Keesmaat is the strongest among millennial voters. Percentage of people aged 18 to 34 years old, they have always voted for him, against 38% for Keesmaat.

And while the poll shows that Keesmaat is far behind Tory, he had less overall support – roughly 20 percent – when he first entered the mayor's office in the 2014 election, which was the first time he was elected. saw two top-ranked competitors, Rob Ford and Olivia Chow

"We are thrilled with the energy and support that already surrounds Jennifer's campaign on just 24 hours," said Sean Meagher, a spokesperson. from Keesmaat. "It's clear that the people of Toronto are looking for real and bold leadership that will support them and make their voices heard when it's really important."

Bozinoff notes however that Keesmaat is facing a difficult battle. Tory's approval ratings have been consistently high, including in the core of Toronto – Keesmaat's current support base – where 64% of people said they'd voted, almost twice as much as the 36% heading for Keesmaat

. "To win, you have to find supporters who say they approve of their work and convince them to vote for someone else," Bozinoff said.

The survey also provides insights into how Torontonians feel about Ford's sudden proposal to halve city council, even though municipal elections are only three months away. On Thursday night, Robert Benzie of the Star revealed that Ford wanted to reduce the number of Toronto neighborhoods from 47 to 25, while canceling the regional presidents elections in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka.

vocal critique and decried as "anti-democratic". (In a series of tweets, Keesmaat responded to the news by floating the idea that Toronto should separate from the province.) Starting at 2 pm Friday, more than 300 people had already registered for sit on existing board seats.

The boundaries of Toronto neighborhoods were redrawn in 2016 after a process that increased the number of neighborhoods from 44 to 47. If Ford plans to reduce the city the board is successful, each advisor will be responsible to about 100,000 residents; in a scenario of 47 people, there would be a counselor representing 60,000 people.

While 47 percent of respondents disapproved of Ford – a figure that climbs to 61 percent by only looking at the core of the city – its approval figures are according to Bozinoff, he's strong in his suburbs, according to Bozinoff .

"He's in the honeymoon period, he's getting off to a good start," Bozinoff said. "It's 46% (approval) in Etobicoke, 47% in North York, 44% in Scarborough – it's Ford Nation."

But these same communities feel lukewarm about the boundary changes proposed by the Prime Minister. Across Toronto, 47% of people oppose this idea, with 35% being "strongly opposed," according to the poll. The opposition is strongest in the old city of Toronto, where 60% of people disapprove of the reduction in the number of neighborhoods.

The residents of Etobicoke – the Ford base – have shown the strongest support for the idea.

Jennifer Yang is a Toronto journalist covering identity and inequality. Follow her on Twitter: @jyangstar