Toronto Mayor's Approval Rating Increases After Crack Cocaine Video

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Mayor Rob Ford’s approval rating rose slightly after Police Chief Bill Blair confirmed the existence of a video in which Ford appears to smoke crack cocaine and make homophobic and racist remarks, according to a poll taken Thursday night by Forum Research.

The poll found that 44 per cent of voters approve of the job Rob Ford is doing as mayor, while an Oct. 28 poll found that just 39 per cent approved.

“That may sound counterintuitive. It could be a sampling, margin-of-error thing, or it could be just some sympathy,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research. “If you saw him during that media scrum yesterday, it might have generated some sympathy.”

Ford has been bolstered by a seemingly unshakeable core group of supporters known colloquially as the Ford Nation. Ford’s high approval rating comes despite an “unbelievable” awareness of the video scandal, with 98 per cent of respondents saying they were aware of the news.

“All throughout this whole saga, the Ford Nation has stuck with him, and what we really want to know now is, are they still going to stick with him?” said Bozinoff. “It says, in general, they’re still with him.”

Still, the majority of voters are calling for Ford’s resignation. According to the poll, 60 per cent think he should resign in the wake of the scandal, while 36 per cent — roughly the size of Ford Nation, according to Bozinoff — think he shouldn’t.

“If there’s not enough evidence for the police to charge him, there’s definitely not enough evidence for the Ford Nation to convict him,” said Bozinoff, who noted that the core block is composed mainly of suburbanite homeowners who drive.

The public is also less satisfied with the answers Ford is providing in the face of the allegations. Thursday’s statement lasted for 64 seconds and constitutes Ford’s entire public comment on the issue so far.

The poll found 70 per cent of voters think he hasn’t adequately addressed allegations about drug use. Nearly half of the mayor’s supporters agree.

“More questions are raised about this. The Ford Nation is not tuned out. If you ask them and ask anybody, they’re going to say, ‘Yep, definitely not adequately addressed.’ And it’s actually gone up from four or five months ago,” Bozinoff said.

The poll was a random telephone sampling of 1,032 Toronto voters, and the results are considered accurate plus or minus 3 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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