Nearly 60% of voters call Ford government 'corrupt' in new poll

A new poll has found that nearly 60% of Ontario voters believe that Premier Doug Ford’s government is “corrupt,” while even more said they believe Ford hires too many “cronies.”

According to the poll, which was completed by Corbett Communications, 57% of respondents feel the provincial government is “corrupt,” which includes 10% of provincial PC voters, and close to one quarter (23%) of past federal Conservative voters.

The poll also found that two-thirds of voters (63%) believe the Ford government has given too many jobs to close friends of the premier, and just 27% believe the departure of Dean French, Ford’s chief of staff who resigned on June 21, has resolved the problem.

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The poll also found that 74% of voters agree that “human-caused catastrophic climate change” is occurring and 69% said Ford’s $30-million fund to fight the federal government’s carbon tax is a waste.

Sixty percent of respondents said Ford’s policies in Ontario will make them less likely to vote Conservative in the upcoming federal election, including 18% of those who voted Conservative federally in 2015.

“It is clear the perception of nepotism in the Ford government has not abated;
Dean French’s resignation didn’t put it to bed,” said Corbett Communications founder, John Corbett, about the findings.

“In addition, Ford’s policies continue to be a serious problem for Andrew Scheer’s federal Conservatives; the proportion of voters, including past Conservative supporters, who say they are now less likely to vote Conservative in October is growing.”

“You can add to that the fact the premier’s anti-carbon tax message, the heart of his platform, is falling flat, and you have the makings of a perfect storm of voter rejection,” said Corbett.

Corbett Communications polled 936 Ontario residents online on July 9 and 10. The margin of error for a similar sample is plus or minus 3%, 19 times out of 20.