'Unusually low': New survey shows decline in Mayor Jyoti Gondek's early approval rating
A new survey by ThinkHQ Public Affairs suggests a majority of Calgarians don't approve of Mayor Jyoti Gondek's performance to date.
According to the survey, just 38 per cent say they approve of Gondek's performance since taking office five months ago, while 53 per cent say they disapprove.
Nine per cent of respondents say they are unsure of how they feel about her performance as mayor thus far.
Such low approval ratings stand out as an anomaly compared to previous ratings of Calgary mayors and there is generally a 'honeymoon phase' for elected officials in the first few months after assuming their role.
In the early days of Dave Bronconnier's tenure as mayor of Calgary, 75 per cent of Calgarians said they approved of the work he had done.
Naheed Nenshi saw staggering support with 86 per cent approval early in his first term as the city's mayor.
"The first five months of Gondek’s administration have been eventful, but perhaps not in the way a new mayor would want," said ThinkHQ Public Affairs' president Marc Henry.
"The arena deal fell apart with the Flames, protests in the beltline, a (nearly) four per cent tax increase when it was supposed to be zero, etc. There are certainly circumstances outside of the mayor's control, but others are entirely of her own making."
In the 2021 muncipal election, Gondek received slightly more than 45 per cent of the 390,383 votes cast for mayor.
Individual city councillors received roughly 45 per cent support from their constituents, while 31 per cent disapprove and 24 per cent of voters are unsure about the work that has been done.
"It’s also unusual for councillors to have better approval ratings than the mayor, particularly with a council where two-thirds are newcomers," said Henry. "This could be a challenge for Gondek going forward."
Gondek said on Tuesday that two years of uncertainty have been tough for many Calgarians.
"This is a point in time where Calgarians, including myself, have been two years into the most uncertain time of our lives and people are feeling the pressure. They're feeling the pressure of the economy, they're feeling the pressure of the downturn, and I think people are frustrated," she said.
"If I ran to be popular, I would have done nothing but sit quietly in my first few months. I didn't do that, because we were elected as a council with a specific mandate to do a lot of heavy work.
"People elected us to make difficult decisions in a really difficult time, and to bring them out of the troubled times that they're in. But there's no one, no single person, that can do that in 100 days. We can do that in the four years that we have a term, and we will do that."
Gondek also questioned the fairness of comparing her approval number to previous mayors.
"This is not 20 years ago, it's not 10 to 11 years ago, it's not even two years ago," she said.
"Would I be happier if we weren't in a pandemic and the economy was great? Yeah, I'd be much happier. That'd be fantastic. But that's not the circumstances that I ran under."
The online survey was conducted between March 14 - 21 and heard from 1,101 Calgarians from a random stratified sample of panelists. ThinkHQ says the survey has a 2.9 per cent margin of error 19 times out of 20.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.