Plante, Coderre tied in race to become Montreal's next mayor: poll
The two top contenders for mayor of Montreal are in a statistical tie with less than two weeks left before voters cast their ballots in the municipal election.
According to a Léger-Le Journal-Montreal Gazette poll released Thursday, Mayor Valerie Plante and Ensemble Montreal's Denis Coderre are in a dead heat for the city's top job. Both are tied at 36 per cent for voting intentions.
Meanwhile, Mouvement Montreal leader Balarama Holness has the support of 12 per cent of voters, according to the poll.
Six per cent of respondents said they'd vote for a different candidate than the top three picks and nine per cent said they were undecided.
HOUSING, ENVIRONMENT TOP ISSUES FOR VOTERS: POLL
Rental costs and home ownership was listed as the top campaign issue, according to people who responded to the survey. Twenty-three per cent of respondents said housing was the number one issue for them.
Behind housing was the environment, with voters raising issues of protection of green spaces and single-use plastics regulation as thier second-most important election issue, followed by the economic revival of the downtown and commercial arteries.
Other key issues for voters, according to the poll, include gun control and funding for Montreal police, municipal taxes, public service, and homelessness.
Language is also set to become a hot button topic as the biggest parties share polarizing views on the English-French debate in the city. Plante said she is seeking to promote French in the metropolis, while Holness is seeking bilingual status for Montreal. Meanwhile, Coderre dismissed the idea of a referendum on language, calling it “too divisive.”
The poll showed that incumbent Mayor Plante's main opponent, Coderre, has the most support among anglophone voters. Of the 90 anglophones surveyed, he had 38 per cent of their support, while Plante had 28 per cent, the poll showed. Holness came in third with 12 per cent of the anglophone vote.
"Without Holness, Denis Coderre would win because he would seek the vote of non-French speakers," Jean-Marc Léger, president of the Léger firm, was quoted as saying in the Journal de Montreal.
The poll resembles others released in recent weeks that put Plante and Coderre on the path for a real showdown in the Nov. 7 election -- one that has been made all the more interesting with Holness entering the ring and chipping away at support for Ensemble Montreal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.