Polls
Two-thirds of Edmonton voters (66.7%) who expressed an opinion on the relocation of Lucy the elephant, support her relocation, compared to one-third (33%) who said they did not support the relocation. More than 8 in 10 Edmonton voters expressed that just 2 in 10 (19.2%) had no opinion.
Almost twice as many people (26% to 17%) surveyed said they were either much more or somewhat more likely to vote for someone who supported the relocation of Lucy. That opinion was shared across genders and age groups. The poll shows the race for Mayor with no incumbent is wide open, and the support for Lucy’s relocation having a significant impact.
In the Mayor’s race, we find a very open race between the four most likely candidates with more than 6 in 10 voters remaining undecided. Nearly 7 in 10 (68.8%) have not decided on any of the four likely candidates. In terms of the impact of this issue, it appears to be more significant to supporters of Mike Nikel and Cheryl Watson than the other two candidates. At this early stage of the election year, and with incumbent Don Iveson not seeking re-election, a majority of voters simply don’t like their current options.
A heightened grassroots public advocacy campaign during this election could be useful in shoring up support for relocation. 13% said that they were much more likely to vote for a candidate that supported relocation. Three of the 12 Edmonton council races in 2017 were decided by a smaller margin than this so being on the wrong side of public opinion might cause a candidate to win or lose in their war in a quarter of the council seats.
“The issue of safely relocating Lucy does receive a significant majority of the support among Edmonton voters”, said Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research. “While more than two-thirds are not decided on how they might vote, just 19% don’t have an opinion on the relocation of Lucy the elephant,” he added. “While we did not ask awareness of this as an issue in the coming election, the contrast between those two measures means Lucy elicits opinions from voters,” he added. “Perhaps she could run for mayor herself; they do say she’s the elephant nobody forgets.”
LEAP Edmonton Report – (Feb… by Mainstreet
