NEWS RELEASE 

  


New Massive Ward-by-Ward Poll Shows Support for Land Transfer Tax Repeal in 38 of 44 City of Toronto Wards

 

TORONTO, June 8, 2012 – According to a new massive ward-by-ward poll of almost 9,500 Toronto residents, conducted by Ekos Research, 86 per cent of City wards (38 of 44) want to see the Toronto Land Transfer Tax repealed.

 

“Clearly, if City Councillors respect the wishes of their constituents, repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax would be easily approved by Toronto City Council.  City Councillors should listen to their constituents on this issue,” said Richard Silver, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

 

Detailed ward-by-ward results of the poll, conducted by Ekos Research, are provided in the attached tables and maps (Map 1) (Map 2) (Table 1) (Table 2). The poll found that,

 

§    in 82 percent of City wards (36 of 44 wards), 50 per cent or more of residents support repealing the Toronto Land Transfer Tax (when including wards where a plurality of residents support repeal, 86% of City wards (38 of 44) support repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax);.

 

§    in 89 per cent of City wards (39 of 44 wards), 50 per cent or more of residents indicated that they would be more likely to vote for their Councillor in the next election if their Councillor votes to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax (when including wards where a plurality of residents are more likely, 98 per cent of City Wards (43 of 44) are more likely to vote for their Councillor in the next election if their Councillor votes to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax;

 

§    even in the vast majority of wards represented by councillors who have publicly opposed repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, a majority of residents support the repeal of this tax. 

 

“There have been a lot of polls showing strong City-wide public support for the repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, but this poll is the first one that took a closer look at public opinion on a ward-by-ward basis. No matter how you look at it, public opposition to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax is strong,” said Von Palmer , TREB’s Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer.

 

The Ekos Poll was released as TREB continues to mobilize Torontonians to tell their City Councillors how they feel about this tax.  TREB recently launched a new website, www.LetsGetThisRightToronto.ca, to help the public communicate with their City Councillor and to learn more about this issue.                                                                                                                        

 

“The Toronto Land Transfer Tax is holding our City back.  Together, we’re building a great City, but we need to get this right.  The Toronto Land Transfer Tax is no way to build a great City. It makes our City less affordable, less fair, and less competitive.  Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario with a municipal land transfer tax, and the only one in all of Canada with two land transfer taxes,” said Palmer. “We understand the importance of quality services to building a great city, but we believe that those services should be funded fairly and reliably.”

 

The Interactive Voice Response poll was conducted by Ekos Research in May, 2012 with a sample of 9,459 residents of Toronto , divided among the City’s 44 wards.


 

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