TORONTO – According to a new poll released today, the vast majority of Ontario residents from every region of the province agree that the Ford Conservatives are on the wrong track.
The results show that when asked if the Ford Conservatives are on the right track, 73% of Northern Ontarians said no, as did 74% of residents in eastern and central Ontario and 72% in Southwestern Ontario. The results clearly show that even in areas that supported the Conservatives during the election, three quarters of those surveyed want this government to change directions and end its devastating attack on public services.
“People from every corner of Ontario are upset with the chaos of the Ford Conservative and they understand how cuts and restructuring are devastating their communities”, says Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. “That’s why more and more Ontarians are joining together to send a message to Doug Ford to stop his all-out assault on the public services that working families rely on.”
The poll results are staggering for a government that has not yet completed their first year in office. Seven out of ten Ontarians say the cuts to public services make them less likely to vote PC in the next election. That includes four out of ten people who voted PC in the last election.
Age and gender were also a factor in the results. 83% of women in the poll said the Conservative Government is moving in the wrong direction compared to 67% of men. This opinion was shared by three quarters of Ontarians over the age of 45 – traditionally a strong constituency for the PCs. In this age group (which includes seniors), 72% said they reject the current direction of the province.
“This is not what the people of Ontario voted for”, says Candace Rennick, Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE Ontario, “They are angry and frustrated that Doug Ford promised he was ‘for the people’, and while he still uses that slogan daily, clearly ‘The People’ aren’t buying it.”
“This poll is a strong expression of the displeasure Ontarians are feeling about the chaos and confusion Ford’s cuts are causing on the ground in towns and cities across the province”, says Hahn.
The poll, commissioned by CUPE Ontario and CUPE Local 79, and conducted by Environics Research, is based on telephone surveys of 1,332 Ontario residents between May 14th and May 16th, and has a margin of error of 2.7 % – 19 times out of 20.
For more information, contact:
Caedmon Malowany, Communications Rep, CUPE Ontario 204-801-9136
