86% of Torontonians oppose Doug Ford's cuts to public health

Just over a month after the provincial government announced it was cutting millions in funding to public health, a new poll suggests a vast majority of Ontarians do not agree with the Ford government.

The study, which was conducted by Environics Research, was commissioned by CUPE Ontario and CUPE Local 79, the union that represents thousands of City of Toronto workers.

It was conducted over a three-day period from May 14 to 16 and contained a margin of error of 2.7%. A total of 1,332 people across the province were surveyed with a mix of landline and mobile numbers called.

See also

• Tory: It's an 'unprecedented time' in Toronto following Ford's $177M budget cuts
• This is exactly how Ford's budget cuts will impact Toronto
• City officials want Ford to reverse $1-billion cuts to Toronto Public Health

According to the poll, 83% of Ontarians oppose the Ford governments cuts to public health, with 70% strongly opposed. Here in Toronto, 86% of residents oppose the cuts, and 90% of women oppose.

What’s notable is that even those who voted for the PCs during the June 2018 election, four in 10 believe the Ford government is “going in the wrong direction.”

Eight in 10 respondents said that Public Health Units are very important to Ontario, including six in 10 of those who voted PC in 2018.

Almost six in 10 Ontarians are very aware of the PC government’s plans for major funding cuts to Public Health Units and awareness is particularly high in Toronto (68%).

Additionally, seven in 10 Ontarians say the cuts to public health make them less likely to vote PC in the next Ontario election. Notably, this includes almost four in 10 of those who voted PC in 2018.

Following the release of the poll, Toronto city councillor Joe Cressey said the results are “simply devastating for the government.”

Breaking new Environics poll: 83% of Ontarians and 56% of PC voters oppose Doug Ford’s cuts to public health. In a word, the poll is simply devastating for the government. https://t.co/j4A9Xtxauv pic.twitter.com/nJyUuNUixr

— Joe Cressy (@joe_cressy) May 21, 2019