Poll: East Yorkers want change at Queen’s Park

Strong majority want new leadership with election approaching, according to NewsTalk poll

East Yorkers' views on Premier Kathleen Wynne has changed negatively with the 2018 election approaching. Ahmed-Zaki Hagar/OBSERVER

A majority of East York residents believe it is time for change at Queen’s Park, according to a new poll.

The poll found that three-quarters of Torontonians want new leadership at Queen’s Park, with 79 per cent of East York residents agreeing.

DART Insight and Communications polled 814 respondents, and including over 100 from East York, the radio station NewsTalk 1010.  Participants were asked about various issues in provincial politics, from marijuana legalization to public-funded daycare.

When asked whether they will vote for Premier Kathleen Wynn in next year’s election, only four per cent of East York residents say they will  definitely. Fifty per cent say they will not vote for Wynne no matter what.

Wynne has represented the Don Valley West riding since 2003. She became Premier of Ontario after Dalton McGuinty resigned in 2013. She and the Liberals won a majority government in the 2014 election.

On other issues, East York residents are more evenly split. Forty-nine per cent, for example, agree the LCBO should be the only place to sell marijuana. However, 65 per cent do not oppose having any dispensary in their neighbourhood.

Only 25 per cent of East Yorkers say that they will be purchasing marijuana if it becomes legal and available. Three-quarters of East Yorkers polled say that they will not.

Forty-five per cent of East Yorkers think there should be a referendum on legalizing marijuana rather than it being a government decision, while 55 per cent disagreed.

Regarding the minimum wage, 46 per cent of East York residents support the Liberals’ plan to incrementally increase the minimum wage until it reaches $15 in 2019. Forty-one per cent want a longer phase-in for local businesses to adjust. Only 13 per cent want to cancel the plan altogether.

Seventy-one per cent of East York residents support all families having access to full-funded daycare, with 29 per cent oppose.

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Posted: Oct 22 2017 11:27 am
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