Ottawa's public transportation system is the most frequently cited issue by voters in the capital's local election campaigns, according to a new poll.
A poll conducted by Nanos Research for his CTV News Ottawa asked respondents, "What are the most important issues in the city council elections in Ottawa?" and required open-ended responses. .
LRT and public transport are the most frequently mentioned topics in election campaigns, cited by 21.4% of those surveyed. Taxes or property taxes are in second place at 15.4%, and affordable housing at 15.0%, which is roughly flat.
Climate change and the environment came in fourth at 5.6%, followed by roads and infrastructure, which was cited as the most important issue by his 4.9% of respondents. 2.6% of respondents said they don't know what the most important issues are, and 2% said they don't have the most important issues or don't follow campaigns.
Transit was consistently high among various respondents, found overall in both men (21.7%) and women (20.1%), and across all age categories (23%, 18-34%, 21.7%, 35-54; 20%). Commonly mentioned issues %, 55+). Transportation was also the most frequently cited issue among residents of eastern Ottawa (25.6%) and rural areas (20.7%).
West Ottawa residents cite property taxes (20.2%) as more of a concern than transportation (18.2%). Downtown residents cited affordable housing (25%) as their top concern, followed by transportation (20.8%). The transportation promise was a central and early element of the Ottawa mayor's campaign. The Council's final term was marked by a series of initiations and subsequent failures of the Confederation Line LRT, but this term also included an early and controversial vote to approve Phase 2.
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Since then, the transit system has suffered a severe revenue shortfall caused by a sharp drop in passenger numbers, largely due to his COVID-19 pandemic. Passenger numbers for OC Transpo and Para Transpo have not returned to 2019 levels, and transport services are expected to drop to $85 million this year unless top-level governments provide additional funding, as was the case in 2020 and 2021. We are forecasting a deficit of
Nanos conducted a representative online nonprobabilistic survey of her 479 Ottawa residents aged 18 and over on September 11. October 23rd and 3rd. Error bars are not available for this type of survey.
FARE BOX TOP OF MIND AT BALLOT BOX
OC Transpo fares emerged early as an election issue when a report was published in July suggesting that providing transit service that is free at the fare box would lead to a significant increase to property taxes.
Estimating that eliminating fares would cost approximately $209 million, based on pre-pandemic transit use, city staff said such a move would increase the transit tax for the average property owner by an additional $482 in the first year.
An adult transit rider using a monthly pass is paying $1,506 at current fare for an entire year of service.
Candidate Mark Sutcliffe came out early opposing any plan to broadly eliminate transit fares by increasing tax levies, arguing that improving service would be the key to restoring ridership. His transit plan includes a one-year fare freeze for all transit riders—expanding a previously announced plan to freeze low-income and seniors' passes—and to provide more transparent and current data on system performance. count. Current frontrunner Catherine McKenney freezes fares and increases transportation services by 20 percent, making fares free for all drivers under 17, according to her Nanos Research poll for CTV News Ottawa We are committed to McKenney also promises a complete overhaul of her OC Transpo within her first 100 days of her new semester.
Former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli also said that if elected, during his first 100 days in office, he would promise a major overhaul of OC Transpo and oppose fare abolition through tax increases.
Young voters are less concerned about property taxes
Taxes and property taxes were the second most frequently mentioned issue, keeping affordable housing out. Younger voters were far less likely to cite property taxes as the most important issue compared to other age groups. , 19.3% of respondents aged 35-44 and 17% of respondents aged 55 and over.
Men are twice as likely to cite tax as their biggest issue than female girlfriends, with 20.8% of male girlfriends saying tax is their biggest issue compared to 10.5% of female girlfriends.
Residents of West and East Ottawa were also more likely than downtown and rural voters to view taxes as the most important issue.
His fifth (20.2%) of West Ottawans said property tax was the most important issue, over transportation (18.2%) and affordable housing (14.1%). in the east,Public transport remained at the top of the problem list (21.7%), but property taxes trailed slightly at 20.8%.
Taxes remain the second most frequently mentioned item for rural residents, followed by transit (20.7%) with 13.7%, but urban residents see taxes as an important issue. He was only 8.8%.
McKechnie had promised to limit property tax increases to 3% a year if he was elected mayor, a policy during his last term in Congress. Sutcliffe said that when he becomes mayor, he will keep the tax increase from 2% to 2.5%. Chiarelli has said he will freeze taxes in his first year if elected mayor. Key Issues of Downtown Affordable Housing
Affordable housing was the third most frequently mentioned issue throughout the campaign, but demographic data shows it's an important issue for younger residents and those living in inner cities.
A quarter (25.0%) of those surveyed in the city center cited affordable housing as the most important issue. It was also her second most-mentioned topic among women (17.3%) and her residents aged 18-34 (18.5%).
McKennie's housing plan focused on ending chronic homelessness by building his 250 assisted housing through the federal Fast Housing Initiative and accommodating another 250 through housing benefits. I'm here.
McKechnie says he has applied for $108 million from his $4 billion housing accelerator fund in the federal government to build new affordable housing in the city and work with community housing agencies. , said it would build 1,000 non-profit housing units per year and build them across the city. Sutcliffe plans to build 100,000 new homes and 1,000 multifamily units in Ottawa over ten years. He says he will use targeted building incentives, zoning changes, and city zoning to build affordable housing.
Chiarelli's housing plans include specific pledges to protect R1 zoning. In other words, zoning that prohibits the construction of larger multi-family dwellings in an area that consists mostly of single-family homes. He said Ottawa's enhancement goals for growth can be achieved by constructing buildings on top of existing city land and commercial space. He also said he will expedite applications for attic and basement suites to increase living space for people. About 6% of Ottawa voters have already voted in the primary election. There is an early voting day on the Friday before Election Day, October 24th. CTV News Ottawa previously reported that Nanos Research found 35% of them.Respondents were undecided on who to elect as mayor.
CTV News at Six is hosting the Mayors Debate on Thursday, October 13th. Coverage he will begin on CTV News at Five, with extended post-debate coverage on CTVNewsOttawa.
