Scarborough byelection too close to call: poll
Posted August 31, 2016 11:41 am.
Last Updated August 31, 2016 1:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new poll suggests Thursday’s provincial byelection in the riding of Scarborough-Rouge River is too close to call.
According to Mainstreet Research, Progressive Conservative candidate Raymond Cho has a five-point lead over Liberal candidate Piragal Thiru – 35 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.
Neethan Shan, who is representing the NDP, is in distant third with 18 per cent. The Green Party has nominated Priyan De Silva, who is in fourth place with three per cent.
Seventeen per cent of those asked said they were undecided.
However, with the margin or error, the race remains a tight one between the Liberals and the PCs.
“It looks like this race is going to come down to the wire – and ultimately to the party with the strongest get-out-the-vote operation,” David Valentin, executive vice-president at Mainstreet, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The poll surveyed 578 eligible voters by phone on Sunday and Monday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.08 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Valentin said it’s unknown how PC Leader Patrick Brown’s reversals on the sex-ed curriculum will affect support in the riding.
Read the full poll results below or click here to view it.
Mainstreet poll: Scarborough-Rouge River byelection
Preliminary figures show 4,509 voters showed up for the advance polling held last week, Elections Ontario said in a release on Monday.
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The seat, which has been vacant since Liberal backbencher Bas Balkissoon abruptly resigned in March, has been red since its inception in 1999. A byelection was called in early August.
Last Wednesday, 10 candidates took part in a debate on Rogers TV, moderated by CityNews reporter Cynthia Mulligan.
Candidates work to woo voters in Scarborough-Rouge River byelection. Watch the video below or click here to view it.
“There is a silent crisis happening in our healthcare system. Our front-line staff and nurses are being fired … wait times [are] increasing,” Shan said when asked about how he would improve healthcare in their community.
“In fact, [in] Scarborough hospitals the silent crisis is even more pronounced because of the lack of leadership and the disrespect we’ve been getting from Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals. The operating rooms are outdated.”
The candidates were also asked about the Scarborough subway extension. Green Party candidate De Silva said the current plan for the subway is not enough.
“The one-stop Scarborough subway station does not help Malvern, the northeast part of Scarborough. It does need to be extended and more different types of transit must be included for Scarborough,” De Silva said.
