Toronto Mayor Chow’s Approval Rating Drops Following Property Tax Hike

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speaks to media at Toronto City Hall on July 12, 2023. The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s approval rating has dropped by 16 points following the release of the city’s budget, according to a newly released poll.

Once polling as high as 75 percent, Ms. Chow’s rating has fallen to 55 percent, according to a survey by  Liaison Strategies for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC).

“In previous months we’ve found her approval as high as 75 percent and as low as 71 percent,” David Valentin, principal at Liaison Strategies said in a release. He added that while 55 percent still shows that a majority approves of Ms. Chow, she has dropped from a +49 (approval minus disapproval) to +16.

Her disproval rating is at 39 percent, with six percent saying they are unsure.

Mr. Valentin said a large factor in the drop was the recent budget announcement and a 9.5 percent property tax increase to offset the $1.8 billion deficit the municipal government is facing.

“Through our extensive public consultations, we heard that Torontonians understand that this year they are being asked to pay more for their city,” Ms. Chow said in her budget letter on Feb. 1.

She also wrote that city administration was able to save about half a billion dollars in “efficiencies and offsets,” and a new deal with the provincial government has opened up more revenue, yet Ms. Chow said that an increase in taxes was still needed.

“The impact of this increase will be offset with property tax relief programs for qualifying lower income people and seniors,” she said. “They will also qualify for water rebate and solid waste rebate programs.”

Mr. Valentin said that it was difficult for politicians to maintain high ratings during tax discussions.

“Approvals in the 70 percent range were always going to be a challenge for any politician to maintain - especially once tough conversations about the budget and tax rates took the spotlight,” he said.

Meanwhile, of those polled, 47 percent said they approved of the new city budget and 40 percent indicated they disapproved. Yet, only 29 percent said the city should raise taxes and 35 percent said the city should stop spending money.

In January, there was a proposed property tax increase of 10.5 percent. However, in February, Mayor Chow reduced that proposed hike to 9.5 percent, which includes an 8 percent increase in property tax and 1.5 percent for the city building fund.

A special budget meeting is scheduled for Feb. 14 where city council can consider the budget that Ms. Chow put forward.

City Issues

The NEPMCC poll also questioned Toronto residents about the issues they felt were most important for their city. Affordable housing was the top concern, with 36 percent of respondents saying it was the most important issue facing the city.

A recent report from RBC economist Robert Hogue noted that just 22 percent of Ontario residents can afford a single family home, while 32.8 percent can afford to own a condo.

Transit was the second-highest priority for respondents, at 21 percent, and crime came in as the third biggest concern residents have at 17 percent.

According to City of Toronto data, there are an average of 155 major crimes on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) system each month. Several stabbings were reported on the TTC throughout 2023, including that of a 16-year-old boy who was killed in a March attack.

Forty-eight percent of those surveyed indicated they were satisfied with Ms. Chow’s handling of crime in the city, while 44 percent said they were not happy with her response, and 8 percent said they were unsure.

The 2024 budget has allocated funds to hire “hundreds” more firefighters, EMS, and police, Ms. Chow said in her budget letter.

The poll surveyed 875 Toronto residents from Feb. 5-8. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.31%, 19 times out of 20.

Matthew Horwood and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.