Advance voting in Toronto’s municipal election opened Tuesday and runs through Oct. 11, as a new poll put Mayor Olivia Chow about 10 percentage points ahead of challenger Brad Bradford, CP24 reported.
Voters can cast early ballots between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day from Oct. 6 to 11, CP24 said. Election day is Monday, Oct. 26, with polls open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The city is choosing its 67th mayor, along with councillors and school trustees.
Advance voting locations are listed on voter cards, and residents can find theirs by entering a home address on the My Vote Toronto website, according to CP24. The same site lets residents check whether they are on the voters’ list.
Voters must show identification with their name and Toronto address, CP24 said. Accepted documents include a driver’s licence, Ontario tax documents, a credit card or bank statement, a utility bill, and employer-issued items such as pay stubs, a T4 or direct deposit statements. Passports are not accepted because they do not list an address.
Employees are entitled to three consecutive hours to vote on election day, though employers decide when within the working day, CP24 reported.
The poll was conducted by Nanos Polling for CP24 and CTV News Toronto between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4. It surveyed 755 Toronto residents and has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Among decided voters, Chow had 52.4 per cent support, Bradford 42.6 per cent and Chris Alexander 4.0 per cent. Other candidates combined for 1.0 per cent.
“Olivia Chow holds a citywide lead over Brad Bradford and draws her strongest support from Toronto-East York, where she exceeds 60 per cent, while also leading in Scarborough,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research.
The poll found a gender gap. Chow had 60.2 per cent support among women, compared with 35.2 per cent for Bradford. Bradford led among men with 50.7 per cent, against 44.0 per cent for Chow.
Chow led in every age group and was strongest among voters aged 18 to 34, at 59.2 per cent.
Enthusiasm also favoured the incumbent. About 53.2 per cent of Chow supporters said they would definitely vote, compared with 43.1 per cent of Bradford supporters. Turnout among committed voters could matter in a race where the leading candidates are separated by roughly 10 points and the margin of error is 3.6 points.
A single poll is a snapshot, not a forecast, and the result comes from one outlet’s reporting. Canada News Media has not independently confirmed the poll data with Nanos, so the story is developing. Voters should confirm advance voting locations and hours with the City of Toronto before heading out.
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Via CP24 and CP24 poll report.
