Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow sees her approval ratings plummet

According to a new poll, support for Olivia Chow has plummeted since the release of the City Council's 2024 budget.

A poll by Liason Strategies said in early February that the mayor's approval rating had fallen to 55 percent. While this is still a majority approval, it has been as high as 75 percent in previous months.

“Olivia Chow's honeymoon is over,” said David Valentine, director of Liaison Strategies.

However, the poll found that 47 per cent of Torontonians support Chow's budget, which would see a 9.5 per cent tax increase on homeowners this year.

“It's rude!” Torontonians are reacting after the city proposed a 10.5% property tax hike in 2024.

Residents rated Chow relatively highly in other areas, giving him a 65 percent approval rating on Toronto's dealings with the federal and provincial governments and an almost identical 64 percent for his work on affordable housing.

However, only 48 percent of those polled said they approve of his work when it comes to fighting crime.

Support for cutting the police budget to fund social services fell from 39 per cent to 31 per cent, and 44 per cent now oppose the measure, despite only 17 per cent saying crime is Toronto's top concern.

READ MORE: Olivia Chow breaks record. There are no cuts in the Toronto police budget. It's actually on the rise, just not in the way the police want it to be

The survey also asked many of the same questions from polls during the election about tax rates.

Support for tax cuts and increases has also increased. Tax increases ranged from 30 percent to 36 percent, and spending cuts ranged from 28 percent to 35 percent, the poll said.

“The numbers tell us that Torontonians approve of the way things are going right now. Approvals in the 70% range have always been a challenge for any politician — especially when tough conversations about the budget and tax rates are in the spotlight,” Valentine concluded.

The survey, conducted between February 5 and 6, 2024, using interactive voice response technology, asked 875 Toronto residents. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.31%, 19 times out of 20.