Torontonians appear to be pleased with the first three months of Mayor Rob Ford's tenure, though he still lacks support among younger voters and in the city core, a new poll suggests.

According to a poll conducted by Forum Research, 60 per cent of Torontonians approve of the job Ford is doing as mayor.

Ford campaigned on promises to cut city expenditures and change the culture of city services into a customer-service model, and it appears to be a winning plan.

Property taxes have not gone up, and the much-maligned, $65 vehicle registration tax has been scrapped, all of which is pleasing to voters, according to the survey.

By area, the approval numbers can be broken down as follows:

  • 71 per cent in Scarborough
  • 65 per cent in North York
  • 46 per cent in the old city of Toronto and East York

Lorne Bozinoff, from Forum Research, said the polling statistics are solid for the new mayor.

‘The numbers are pretty good, he's got a 60 per cent approval rating, that's a little higher in terms of what he got in the vote," he told CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson.

"There's been some controversies in the last three months, it hasn't been completely smooth sailing for him, but despite all that, he seems to have the majority of voters with him."

Bozinoff noted that Ford would do well to concentrate on winning over voters in the city core.

"He hasn't convinced some of the people who voted for the other candidates yet that he's doing a good job," he said.

But not all of Ford's moves have been so popular, and he still lacks support among younger voters.

In fact, the survey suggests that:

  • Only 49 per cent of those between 18-34 support the mayor
  • While 67 per cent of voters over the age of 55 support him

Ford killed off his predecessor's massive Transit City plan, which aimed to bring light-rail transit to far-flung neighbourhoods across the city. And he had to use a David Miller-era surplus to cover budgetary shortfalls this year.

In regards to transit, 72 per cent of respondents said that the TTC should be made an essential service, which would eliminate workers' legal right to strike.

The poll also suggests that 61 per cent of Torontonians believe that private money should be used to help construct the Sheppard subway line. Additionally, 63 per cent of voters favour Ford's emphasis on constructing subways rather than surface LRTs.

Other stats in the poll include:

  • 54 per cent support for the privatization of garbage
  • 63 per cent disapproval for the so-called "jobs for life" clause in city worker contracts
  • 62 per cent disapproval for Ford using $3 million for efficiency consultancies

Ford has said he wants to get rid of the "job for life" proviso in city contracts.

The telephone poll was done on Feb. 25 and 26, and surveyed 1,012 people. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out 20.