Ford slams 'fake poll' suggesting his popularity has plummeted. The polling firm is clapping back

Ford slams 'fake poll' suggesting his popularity has plummeted. The polling firm is clapping back

Premier says his government would form 'massive majority' if election happened today

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government would win a 'massive' majority if an election was 'held today,' after polling firm Angus Reid released data showing his approval rating plummeted to its lowest point since his re-election.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is bickering with a well-known Canadian polling firm after it released data that showed his approval rating had tumbled to its lowest ever, at 21 per cent.

On June 11, Angus Reid Institute put out survey data looking at premier approval ratings across the country. Ford’s was the worst out of the eight provinces polled (PEI was not included due to its small population size).

Asked about the poll Tuesday, Ford called the results "fake," claiming the firm polls "the NDP and Liberal caucus."

"I got a hold of their methodology once, folks. They went into a hardcore NDP neighbourhood downtown, they didn’t do it across. It's little games and then you guys run with it," he said at an unrelated news conference in Thunder Bay.

The premier went on to say he’d form a "massive majority" if an election "was held today."

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Hours later, Angus Reid clapped back with a response posted to its website, saying it stands by its research and methodology and that it has measured premier approval ratings for over a decade.

"While it is not surprising for a premier with a comparatively low approval rating to express unhappiness with the data, we note that Premier Ford has at times been among the most approved-of provincial leaders in the country based on data from this same quarterly survey," the firm said.

"He did not express a problem with Angus Reid polling then."

The quarterly polling data shows Ford’s approval rating dropped from 31 per cent to 21 per cent from March to June. Angus Reid attributed the drop to potential economic pressure and "self-inflicted" wounds, such as the government’s purchase and subsequent sale of a nearly $29-million private jet.

The provincial margin of error for the Ontario data is (+/- 3%), meaning that results are within three percentage points in either direction for Ford’s approval rating.

Alina Snisarenko is a Toronto-based journalist. She currently works as a digital writer for CBC Toronto and has previously worked as an associate producer with CBC Radio's Metro Morning. You can reach her with story ideas or tips at alina.snisarenko@cbc.ca.