Survey of almost 4000 Ontario supporters of the Council of Canadians reveals key issues for Ontario Election
A Council of Canadians online survey conducted between April 21 and May 9 received 3,892 responses from Ontario supporters of the social justice organization. The survey asked “Which issues are important to you and will inform how you will vote in the upcoming election?”
The top responses included:
- 94% want permits for bottled water eliminated.
- 90% want greater enforcement and penalties for corporations breaking environmental laws.
- 88% want environmental, Indigenous and labour rights to be protected in trade agreements.
- 86% want Ontario to explicitly recognize the human right to water and to prioritize community access to water over industrial uses.
- 78% want to prevent the privatization/sale of municipal hydro utilities.
- 77% want the rights of Indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent to be honoured.
- 76% want the province to enact a “Housing for All” strategy that increases the supply of affordable housing and commits to eliminate homelessness.
“We have more than 60,000 supporters across Ontario and more than 3,000 supporters in several key ridings,” said Rachel Small, Ontario Organizer with the Council of Canadians. “They are informed and engaged and they vote. They know what they want the future of Ontario to look like, and they will organize in their communities to make that happen.”
The survey closed with the drawing up of writs for all 124 ridings across Ontario on Wednesday.
95% of respondents stated they had voted in the 2014 provincial election — far higher than the province-wide voter turnout of 52% in 2014. 98% of respondents stated they will vote on June 7.
The full survey results are available on the Council of Canadians’ Ontario Election webpage http://canadians.org/Ontario2018 and are summarized in this graphic.
The Council of Canadians will share the results of the survey with all the parties and candidates in the Ontario election.
The Council will be rating the platforms of the four main provincial political parties and reporting the results back to its Ontario supporters before advance polls open on May 26. The organization also has 17 grassroots chapters in Ontario and many are organizing local “all candidates” debates. Information on Council chapters’ election organizing is available here.
The Council of Canadians is non-partisan. We believe in active citizen involvement in the electoral process. While the Council does not endorse candidates, parties or holders of public office, the organization may support positions taken that are consistent with its goals and mission.
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For more information or to arrange interviews:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org. Twitter: @CouncilOfCDNs
