Polls
A new Mainstreet Technologies poll finds 70% of Calgary residents are following the secondary suites debate at City Hall – and they are divided over outright reform of secondary suites 42% to 37% within the poll’s margin of error of +/- 2.7%, 19/20.
“Much like council, Calgarians are divided over what to do about secondary suites”, said Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Technologies. “There is higher support for specific reforms, such as allowing secondary suites in areas already zoned for them or containing them to the inner city, but there is no consensus on allowing secondary suites in all neighbourhoods of the city. Even though the poll mentions a vote would be non-binding, there is strong support for a plebiscite on the issue.”
Meanwhile, Naheed Nenshi scored an approval rating of 57%. Support was lower for City Council (51%) and Local Councillor (47%). Approval/Disapproval scores for Local Councillor were statistically tied.
“We were surprised at the approval scores but the next election is two years away. What is troubling for individual councillors is Calgarians are sharply divided over their local representation. The scores for local councillor are particularly weak – most of the approval comes from those who ‘somewhat approve’ as opposed to those who ‘strongly approve’. The reverse is true for Mayor Nenshi who sees the bulk of his approval score come from those who ‘strongly approve’ of his performance. 70% of Calgarians have been following the secondary suites debate and this may be contributing to the mayor‘s approval rating,” finished Maggi.
Highlights
– 57% approve of Naheed Nenshi’s performance as mayor
– 51% approve of city council, 47% approve of their local councillor
– 42% of Calgarians approve of widespread secondary suite reform, 37% are opposed, a statistical tie
– 47% approve of secondary suite reform contained to the inner city
– 76% approve of easing rules for secondary suites where they are already allowed
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