Narrow lead for Kennedy Stewart in Vancouver mayoral race: poll

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart speaks during a press conference in Vancouver on July 4, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Darryl Dyck)

Months ahead of Vancouver's municipal election, a new survey suggests incumbent Kennedy Stewart is leading the city's mayoral race – though only by a narrow margin.

Mainstreet Research's poll found 17 per cent of voters leaning toward Stewart, who is running with the Forward Together party, compared to 13 per cent who favoured his closest opponent, Colleen Hardwick of TEAM Livable Vancouver.

Ken Sims of A Better City and Mark Marissen of Progress Vancouver trailed the two frontrunners, each with support from 11 per cent of survey respondents.

Six per cent of respondents said they were leaning toward the Non-Partisan Association's John Coupar, while one per cent favoured Golok Buday of the BC Libertarian party.

Two in five survey respondents were undecided.

Among all the candidates, Stewart received the most support from male voters, non-binary voters, and those who are at least 50 years old, while Hardwick had a slight lead among female voters and those between the ages of 18 and 49.

Asked about the most important issues facing Vancouver, 39 per cent of respondents said creating more affordable housing was their key concern heading into October's vote. Decreasing taxes was identified as the top issue by 23 per cent of respondents, followed by improving services (16 per cent), improving transit (13 per cent), and improving roads and infrastructure (nine per cent).

Mainstreet Research's poll was conducted from July 25 to 27 using automated telephone interviews, with a sample size of 552 Vancouver adults who were contacted on landlines and cellphones.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 per cent, according to the company.