Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks during an Empire Club of Canada event in Toronto, Ontario on Oct., 14, 2011.Michelle Siu
A year after Torontonians elected him as their new mayor, Rob Ford finds himself saddled with the second lowest figure in a national poll surveying the approval ratings of mayors of Canada's 15 largest cities.
Mr. Ford, who was elected on a wave of taxpayer anger, has seen his approval rating slip in the ensuing months after his administration had to look at service cuts to try to balance the city's books.
According to the automated telephone poll conducted by Forum Research Inc. from Friday to Sunday, Mr. Ford has a 37 per cent approval rating, ahead of Gérald Tremblay of Montreal, the mayor with the lowest approval rate (32 per cent).
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion had a 78 per cent approval rating while Naheed Nenshi, who was elected as Calgary's mayor a few days before Mr. Ford , was second with 76 per cent.
The survey of 6,763 people also found that 30 per cent of Toronto respondents indicated they would vote for Mr. Ford in the next election, against 70 per cent who would cast a ballot for someone else.
After getting Toronto City council to approve a $187-million contract to privatize garbage collection in the city's west end, one of his major campaign pledge, Mr. Ford spoke Monday of another term in office.
"Three more years and I'll be running again, that's for sure," he said. "I'm running, 100 per cent," he added later. "I'm already out campaigning."
Mr. Ford made his comments on a day that began in madcap fashion, when comedian Mary Walsh, dressed as Marg Delahunty, her character from the CBC television show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, tried to buttonhole him in the driveway of his Etobicoke home.
Mr. Ford left his van, went back inside and called the police, later saying he didn't recognize the crew from the satirical show.
"It was pretty dark still and my daughter was with me, there was a black Jeep or something outside of my door, I sort of looked at it … then two people who didn't identify themselves came running up," he told reporters.
Mr. Ford said the show had crossed a line by coming to his home.
Mayoral approval rating for Canada's 15 largest cities according to Forum Research:
Hazel McCallion (Mississauga) 78 per cent.
Naheed Nenshi (Calgary) 76 per cent.
Régis Labeaume (Quebec City) 74 per cent.
Diane Watts (Surrey) 68 per cent.
Jim Watson (Ottawa) 66 per cent.
Gilles Vaillancourt (Laval) 63 per cent.
Joe Fontana (London) 61 per cent.
Bob Bratina (Hamilton) and Peter J. Kelly (Halifax) 57 per cent.
Stephen Mandel (Edmonton) 56 per cent.
Susan Fennell (Brampton) 54 per cent.
Sam Katz (Winnipeg) and Gregor Robertson (Vancouver) 49 per cent.
Rob Ford (Toronto) 37 per cent.
Gérald Tremblay (Montreal) 32 per cent.
Tu Thanh Ha