Poll shows 76% of Toronto wants Ford to step down

On a day when City Council will debate a motion asking Rob Ford to take a leave of absence and a major protest will take place at city hall, Ipsos has released a new poll that shows three quarters of Torotonians think the Mayor should step down right now. Of that portion of the sample, 41 per cent think Ford should "resign as mayor, get treatment for his admitted conditions and get out of politics all together because he should not be in elected office," while 35 per cent believe he should "step aside as mayor and have someone temporarily be in his place, go into a treatment program for three or four months and then return and resume his role as Mayor to run the city and in the Toronto Election of 2014."

The poll, which surveyed 665 Torotonians on behalf of CTV News/CP24/CFRB NewsTalk 1010 Radio, was conducted between November 8-12, which places it shortly after the Ford's admission that he has smoked crack cocaine. It is considered accurate plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. Also noteworthy is where it places the Mayor's approval rating. 40 per cent of residents currently "approve," (18 per cent strongly and 22 per cent somewhat) of his performance as Mayor of Toronto, while 60 per cent "disapprove (43 per cent strongly and 17 per cent somewhat). Those aren't the best numbers going into an re-election campaign, but they're inevitably influenced by how the recent the scandal is.

What do you think? Can the mayor withstand the pressure he's currently under to take a leave of absence?

Check out the Ipsos overview for ore insights from the poll.

by Derek Flack via blogTO