Mayoral hopeful Brad Bradford has made up ground on incumbent Olivia Chow in this fall’s Toronto election, according to a new poll.
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Bradford → make → poll
With just under five weeks to go until the Oct. 26 voting day, the public opinion survey by Liaison Strategies shows that 47 per cent of decided and leaning voters intend to cast a ballot for Chow, compared to 40 per cent who back Bradford.
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who → go → Bradford
That gives Chow a seven-point lead over Bradford, the councillor for Beaches—East York, down from 11 points two weeks ago.
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That → give → points
The survey, which was conducted in co-operation with the Star, has candidate Chris Alexander, the former federal cabinet minister and MP for Pickering-Ajax, in third with 10 per cent.
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which → conduct → cent
The findings broadly matches the results of a Mainstreet Research poll published last week.
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findings → match → poll
Chow’s lead narrowing as coverage increases
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coverage → narrow → ?
“I think the race is tightening,” said David Valentin, principal at Liaison.
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Valentin → think → Liaison
But he noted that with almost one-fifth of respondents undecided there is “a lot still to be determined.”
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fifth → note → respondents
Valentin attributed Chow’s shrinking lead in part to growing media coverage of the race.
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Valentin → attribute → race
Following the first debate with all three main candidates on Sept. 14, there has been growing attention on the election and Torontonians are making up their minds.
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Torontonians → follow → minds
But as Bradford inches closer to being within touching distance of Chow, Valentin cautioned that the numbers aren’t all good news for the councillor.
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numbers → inch → councillor
As more voters are becoming familiar with Bradford, the portion of respondents who say they have an unfavourable impression of him is growing faster than those who have a favourable one.
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who → become → one
Thirty-seven per cent says they have a negative view of Bradford, compared to 33 per cent who view him favourably.
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who → say → him
“There’s positive change for him, but the question is, is it sustainable change?” Valentin said.
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Valentin → ’ → him
Cost of living, housing, crime major issues
Liaison also asked questions about which issue was the most important to respondents when deciding which candidate to support.
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issue → ask → candidate
Nearly a quarter, or 23 per cent, said cost of living.
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quarter → say → living
That was followed by housing affordability at 19 per cent, and crime and public safety at 17 per cent.
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That → follow → cent
Chow, a former NDP MP and veteran progressive, has focused much of her campaign on affordability issues, promising to put a weekly cap on TTC fares and touting what she says is her record advancing social housing, protecting tenants and expanding child nutrition programs.
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she → focus → programs
Bradford has tended to focus more on crime and public safety, advocating mandatory treatment for drug addicts, pledging to hire more front-line police officers, and criticizing Chow for not taking a seat on the police board.
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Bradford → tend → board
Valentin said that given how much residents prioritize affordability issues, which are being exacerbated by geopolitical events like the U.S.-Iran war, he was surprised Bradford’s team hasn’t put more emphasis on policies that would lower Torontonians’ cost of living.
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that → say → living
“I find it so fascinating that the Bradford campaign has not put big affordability measures in front of people,” he said.
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he → find → people
Mainstreet poll also found tightening race
The Mainstreet poll conducted between Sept. 14 and 17 found that among decided and leaning voters, Chow had about 46 per cent support, followed by Bradford at roughly 38 per cent and Alexander at just under 10 per cent.
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Chow → find → cent
It found crime and safety to be a major concern for respondents, with just over half saying the issue would be extremely or very important in how they voted.
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they → find → respondents
Mainstreet president and CEO Quito Maggi predicted the effect of the issue on the outcome of the election “cannot be overstated.”
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effect → predict → election
The Liaison Poll was conducted Sept. 19 and 20 using a random sample of Toronto residents, with interactive voice recording technology.
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Poll → conduct → technology
The Mainstreet poll also had a sample size of 1,000 Torontonians, and was conducted using interactive voice response.
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poll → have → response
The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 3.1 per cent, at a 95 per cent confidence level, according to the company.
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results → consider → company
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