CityNews poll shows Canadians across 4 major cities share affordability as top concern

A new poll shows Canadians across four major cities cite affordability as their top concern when asked about a variety of issues they confront in their day-to-day lives.

The poll, conducted by Maru Public Opinion for CityNews, found that across the four major cities, 50 per cent of Torontonians touted affordability and cost of living as the top issue they are concerned about.

That number was even higher in Vancouver where 58 per cent of people felt it was the top issue. It was slightly lower in Edmonton at 55 per cent and sat at 47 per cent in Calgary.

When asked if the city they live is an affordable, 82 per cent of those in Vancouver disagreed, 79 per cent in Toronto disagreed and 70 per cent of Calgarians also did not think their city was affordable.

Those in Edmonton were split nearly 50-50 on whether their city was affordable with 46 per cent agreeing that their city was affordable.

The vast majority of those in Toronto and Vancouver, over 90 per cent agreed their cities were too costly to work and live in, Calgary was close behind with 83 per cent while 71 per cent of those in Edmonton felt their city was too costly to work and live.

Groceries driving high cost-of-living

In all four cities, respondents said groceries were the top cost they are struggling with, followed closely by mortgages/rent and utilities.

Most respondents said grocery chains and food outlets charging excessive prices for higher profits was the number one driver of the price of groceries, followed by government policies.

When it came to which government was to blame for these rising grocery costs, most respondents in each of the four cities placed the most blame on the federal government, followed closely behind by the provincial government.

Of those in Edmonton, 80 per cent of those polled said they were finding it tougher and tougher to make ends meet followed close behind by Vancouver at 77 per cent, Toronto at 75 per cent and Calgary at 73 per cent.

Statistics Canada reported last Tuesday that grocery prices in August rose 2.4 per cent from the year before, a far cry from their peak of 11.4 per cent in late 2022 and early 2023. 

However, grocery prices are still up over 20 per cent compared with three years earlier and grocers have been facing increasing pressure to lower prices.

How residents feel about the state of federal and provincial politics

Other topics asked to respondents of the CityNews poll include the state of provincial and federal politics.

The survey found that only 21 per cent of respondents in four of Canada’s largest metro areas believe Justin Trudeau and his party deserve to be re-elected in the next election.

It comes as both the Federal NDP and the Bloc-Quebecois said they would not support a non-confidence motion expected to be introduced by the Conservatives this week.

Premier Doug Ford remains a polarizing figure in Toronto, according to the poll. When asked what kind of job the Premier is doing for Toronto, 45 per cent feel Ford is doing good job while 55 per cent said they aren’t in favour of his performance. Nearly one third believe he’s doing a “very bad” job.

Toronto voters were asked if the Premier deserves to be re-elected, 30 per cent said he deserves to be while 58 per cent said it’s “time for a change” while 12 per cent are undecided.

When it came to Danielle Smith in Alberta, 45 per cent of those in Edmonton and 49 per cent of those in Calgary felt she is doing a good job while in Edmonton, 36 per cent felt she was doing a very bad job followed shortly behind by 32 per cent in Calgary.

Thirty-seven percent of those in Calgary and 32 per cent of those polled in Edmonton felt she deserved re-election while 59 per cent in Edmonton said it was time for a change. Fifty-three per cent in Calgary also believed it was time for a change in government.

In Vancouver, where a provincial election is fast approaching, 42 per cent of people feel David Eby of the B.C. NDP deserved re-election while 45 per cent believe it’s time for a change.

In the coming days, more results from the CityNews Maru Public Opinion poll about crime rates, immigration and housing will be released.

The poll was conducted between August 29-September 6, 2024, among a random selection of 1,801 Canadian adults who are Unlock Surveys online panelists. Respondents were surveyed within the specific cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. Probability samples of this size have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.