Chow Gains; But Support For All Candidates is Soft
May 1, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – A new Liaison Strategies poll for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) finds Olivia Chow gaining with Mark Saunders and Josh Matlow in a close race for second.
Conducted from April 28-29, 2023, with interactive voice response, the poll of 1,253 Toronto voters has a margin of error of +/- 2.76%, 19 times out of 20.
"Olivia Chow is up to 16%, which gives her a narrow lead over Mark Saunders (12%) and Josh Matlow (12%). The number of undecided voters has decreased but is still relatively high at 39%, said David Valentin, Principal of Liaison Strategies.
“There has not been a lot of movement in the race so far aside from Chow gaining week to week. That being said, only 18% of decided voters say they are strong supporters of their candidate with 61% saying they may change their mind. There is still a long way to go until election day and this is still anyone's race."
The Liaison Survey found among all voters (change from last week):
38% Undecided (-5)
16% Chow (+3)
12% Saunders (+1)
12% Matlow (no change)
6% Bradford (no change)
6% Hunter (+1)
4% Bailao (-1)
3% Someone Else (no change)
2% Furey (+1)
0% Perruzza (-1)
Among Decided Voters Only (change from last week):
23% Chow (+3)
20% Saunders (+1)
19% Matlow (-2)
10% Bradford (no change)
10% Hunter (+1)
7% Bailao (-2)
5% Someone Else (no change)
3% Furey (+1)
1% Perruzza (-1)
Issue questions for the survey this week were a collaboration with Tamil newspaper Uthayan.
"Many Torontonians (41%) believe the city is moving in the wrong direction, but 39% just aren't sure," continued Valentin.
"Despite recession fears, 40% of Toronto voters say they are optimistic about their family's finances compared to 38% who are not."
"Lastly, with the City of Toronto facing a budget shortfall we asked Toronto voters what they would prefer: higher taxes or cutting spending? Most voters indicated they don't know which would be better with 52% undecided. 26% said they would be in favour of raising taxes while 21% said cutting spending would be better," he concluded.
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