Once Again, Leger Is Canada’s Most Accurate Polling Firm - Leger

The battle over bike lanes in Toronto has emerged as a dividing line between Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford supporters leading into this month’s municipal election, exclusive polling shows. The revelation was made in a new Nanos Research survey conducted on behalf of CP24 and CTV News about traffic and transportation in Toronto ahead of the municipal election. Nanos Research surveyed 757 randomly selected Toronto residents between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10 and asked them what the “biggest transportation issue facing Toronto” is. It found that 46 per cent of respondents see traffic congestion as the city’s greatest inconvenience. That view was shared among Chow and Bradford supporters, as well as across respondents of every borough, gender, and age surveyed. Nanos poll graphic The second-biggest pain point when it comes to getting around Toronto was TTC reliability at 19 per cent. In Scarborough, roughly 23 per cent of respondents identified transit as an issue, the highest share of any borough.

Clear divide between Chow, Bradford voters over bike lanes and congestion, new polling showsNew poll reveals Toronto’s top transportation issuesBrad Bradford speaks with North York residents about affordabilityOlivia Chow pledges more jobs for youth in ScarboroughTorontonians who want to move the city forward need to ‘change the mayor,’ Bradford saysExclusive new poll highlights top Toronto transportation concerns

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box. The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing. And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Those questions include:— Should the province should have more say over economic immigration?— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status? Story continues below advertisement