Polls Show 49 Percent Approval Rating for Mayor Ford and Overwhelming Support for Land Transfer Tax Repeal

Construction/Building — June 15, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 15, 2012) - With new polls showing the highest published public approval rating for Mayor Rob Ford, this year, and overwhelming support for repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, REALTORS® are indicating that they believe that Mayor Ford is accurately representing the public's views with regard to the repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.

"REALTORS® commend Mayor Ford for clearly articulating his commitment to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax and for not wavering from this promise. It is clear that the vast majority of the public agrees with his views on this issue. We all want to build a great City, but the public understands that the Land Transfer Tax is stopping Toronto from reaching its full potential," said Richard Silver, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

A recent poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from June 1 to June 6, 2012, found that 49%, of Torontonians approve of the overall performance of Mayor Rob Ford. This is the highest published approval rating for Mayor Rob Ford in recent months.

TREB recently launched a new website, www.LetsGetThisRightToronto.ca, to help the public have their say with their City Councillor and to learn more about the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.

"Mayor Ford has been consistent in his commitment to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax and the public's support of this position has been consistent also," said Von Palmer, TREB's Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer.

Two separate polls recently showed overwhelming public support for repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax:

- A poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from April 30 to May 7, 2012 found that 66% of Torontonians support the Mayor's commitment to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.

- A massive ward-by-ward poll of almost 9,500 Toronto residents, conducted by Ekos Research in May 2012, found that in 36 of 44 City wards, at least half of residents support repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax. Even in most wards represented by councillors who have publicly opposed repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, a majority of residents support the repeal of this tax. Detailed ward-by-ward results of the poll, conducted by Ekos Research, are provided in the attached tables and maps (Map 1) (Map 2) (Table 1) (Table 2).

"TREB REALTORS® work with clients in Toronto and across the GTA and we are seeing some concerning market trends and changes in buyer behaviour, which we believe are being influenced by the Toronto Land Transfer Tax. This will affect the long-term growth of the City of Toronto. The GTA is one economic region, so we need to think about fair and long-term solutions that advance the interests of all of us," said Silver.

TREB's concerns about the impact of the tax on the City's long-term growth are substantiated by the Ipsos Reid poll, which found that 25 percent of Torontonians expecting to move in the next two years are planning to leave Toronto for the 905 regions. In contrast, only three percent of 905 residents expecting to move in the next two years are planning to come to Toronto. Looking at the cause of this trend, the poll found important links to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, with 75% of people in Toronto and the 905 regions who are expecting to move in the next two years saying that they are more likely to move outside of Toronto specifically because of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.

"The Toronto Land Transfer Tax is holding our City back. Together, we're building a great City, but we need to get this right. The Toronto Land Transfer Tax is no way to build a great City. It makes our City less affordable, less fair, and less competitive," said Palmer. "We understand the importance of quality services to building a great city, but we believe that those services should be funded fairly and reliably."

The poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from June 1 to June 6, 2012 was an on-line survey of 506 residents in Toronto and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from April 30 to May 7, 2012, was an on-line survey of 1,257 adults, of which 653 live in the City of Toronto, and 604 live in the surrounding 905 region, with a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Questions were posed to only Toronto residents, or only 905 region residents, or both, as appropriate, depending on the question.

The poll conducted by Ekos Research Associates, in May 2012, was an Interactive Voice Response survey of 9,459 residents of Toronto, divided among the City's 44 municipal wards.

See Support for Repealing Toronto Land Transfer Tax (Map 1): http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/001map.pdf.

See Impact of Repealing LTT on Voting Intentions (Map 2): http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/02Map2.pdf.

See Support for Repealing Toronto Land Transfer Tax (Table 1): http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/01Table_1.pdf.

See Impact of Repealing LTT on Voting Intentions (Table 2): http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/02Table_2.pdf.

Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Over 34,000 TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board.

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Contact Information

Media Inquiries:
Toronto Real Estate Board
Mary Gallagher, Senior Manager Public Affairs
(416) 443-8158
maryg@trebnet.com
www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com