Adding Coun. Josh Matlow to a mayoral race face off with John Tory and Doug Ford would not impact Tory’s lead over his opponents, a new poll has found.
The poll, conducted by Campaign Research, asked 683 Toronto voters about the hypothetical race.
Nick Kouvalis, who is a principal at the polling company, worked on Tory’s successful mayoral campaign in 2014. The two have not ruled out working together again in next year’s reelection campaign.
The poll, conducted online between Dec. 3 and Dec. 6, also pitted the three against an “unknown” fourth candidate.
According to the poll, the four possible candidates received the following voter intent:
- Tory received 57 per cent, up by one per cent since November
- Ford received 29 per cent, up by two per cent since November
- Matlow received 7 per cent
- The any other candidate option received eight per cent
The poll said that Ward 22 councillor Matlow was chosen as the third named option because he has recently garnered media attention in the city by meeting with Toronto residents who do not live in his Ward – a tactic former Mayor Rob Ford used prior to his mayoral campaign.
Matlow has not expressed an interest in running for mayor.
Sixty-eight per cent of survey responders said they did not have an opinion of Matlow as a candidate.
Outside of Matlow’s ward, the councillor has been outspoken on his disapproval of the Scarborough subway. On Nov. 8, Matlow made another attempt at reviving the debate surrounding the $3.35 billion project. At the time, the councillor asked Auditor General Beverley Romeo-Beehler for a “value for money comparison” between the one-stop subway and a previous plan for a seven-stop LRT that was scrapped in 2013.
Matlow also recently gathered attention in September as Tory said he would review a city bylaw that dictates when landlords must switch over their heating and cooling systems – an issue Matlow has been working on for several years. The issue arose after residents in an apartment building in Matlow’s ward were complaining about “very uncomfortable” temperatures.
The latest data produced by Campaign Research showed that 55 per cent of Toronto residents approve of the job Tory has done thus far as mayor.
Tory received the most support from residents between the ages of 35 and 44 with 63 per cent support and those 65 years of age and older with 66 per cent support. He also received 60 per cent support from woman and 69 per cent of provincial Liberal supporters.
Twenty-seven per cent of Ford supporters approve of Tory’s job as mayor as well, according to the poll.
Ford’s highest approval ratings come from Toronto residents between the ages of 35 and 44 years of age at 41 per cent and provincial PC supporters at 45 per cent.
However, of those polled in the survey, 67 per cent said they would not vote for Ford in the upcoming election though the poll analysis says the Etobicoke businessman still has room to grow.
Ford spent one term as city councillor for Ward 2 – Etobicoke North. He unsuccessfully ran against Tory in the 2014 mayoral race following his brother Rob Ford’s withdrawal amid a fatal battle with cancer.
The next municipal election in Toronto is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2018.
The research poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The survey does not explain how researchers selected Toronto voters to complete this poll.
