Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s approval rating took a hit after a much-publicized brush with the law in Vancouver, where he received a ticket for jaywalking earlier this month.
According to a recent poll by Forum Research that surveyed 769 Toronto voters, 43 per cent approved of the job Ford is doing as mayor, down from 47 per cent just after December’s ice storm.
More than one-third (37 per cent) surveyed in the poll said they will vote for Ford in the next municipal election, compared with 59 per cent who said they would not.
Forum Research President Lorne Bozinoff said the “downswing” in Ford’s ratings could be attributed to his being ticketed for jaywalking in British Columbia, where he had travelled for a family friend’s funeral.
“His approval ratings are really sensitive to what’s been going on in the last week, especially with him, so they do bounce up and down a little bit,” Bozinoff told CTV Toronto Sunday.
Ford made international headlines in 2013 after a series of outrageous revelations, including that he had smoked crack cocaine “in a drunken stupor.” Toronto Police also said Ford was being investigated.
Though Ford said he was on a path to healthier living, the mayor has admitted to drinking again when a video surfaced last month of him rambling in an imitation of Jamaican patois.
But the approval ratings also indicate that many voters don’t care about what the mayor does in his personal life.
“It’s a reminder that people tend to underestimate him,” Bozinoff said. “He has done some crazy things in terms of his personal life, but the public and Ford Nation are really loyal to him because of his public life.”
Chances of re-election
Forum Research says Ford’s re-election chances depend on who else joins the race.
The poll found that in a race between the three main declared candidates, Ford and Coun. Karen Stintz would each take 35 per cent. Former Toronto councillor and candidate David Socknacki would take 16 per cent.
NDP MP Olivia Chow, who is believed to be considering a mayoral run, would be the toughest candidate to beat should she throw her hat in the ring. According to the poll, she would take 41 per cent of the vote.
Chow would also win in a five-way race if radio show host John Tory decided to run.
The poll was conducted last week, before the mayor made his most recent controversial comments. On Friday, Ford said he wanted the rainbow flag -- hoisted at Toronto’s City Hall in support of the LGBT community during the Sochi Games -- taken down.
The Forum poll is considered accurate within plus or minus 4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
With a report by CTV Toronto’s Natalie Johnson