Strong Public Support for Billy Bishop Airport

Survey Also Reveals 63 per cent of Torontonians Living South of Queen Street Support New-Technology Jets at Billy Bishop Airport

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TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - A recent survey released today by the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) reveals that 90 per cent of Toronto residents "agree" that "Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is an asset to Toronto," up from 87 per cent in August 2013. Respondents also agreed that the airport is "great for the Toronto economy" (88%) and that the island airport makes "a great first impression for visitors" (77%).

The public opinion survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid between January 13 and January 17, 2014, polled a representative, randomly selected sample of 702 adults living in Toronto - including 300 respondents who live downtown, south of Queen Street. Ipsos Reid has conducted this regular public opinion survey on behalf of the TPA since 2007.

"The survey found that the vast majority of Torontonians continue to embrace Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and recognize its valuable contributions to the city," said Geoffrey Wilson, TPA President and CEO. "We have conducted this survey for the last seven years and continue to record strong awareness, recognition and appreciation for the airport as an important gateway and key driver of the economy."

The January 2014 survey reveals that 34 per cent of the city's residents have flown out of the airport, up from 32 per cent in the August 2013 survey. Two-thirds of respondents (66%) are "personally in favour of having an airport on the island and believe it's good for Toronto," while just 11 per cent are "dead set against it," a number which has remained statistically unchanged in the last four years. The remaining 20 per cent have a neutral opinion of the airport.

The TPA is currently working with the City of Toronto to provide information and participate in consultation with reference to the Porter Airline's proposal to accommodate CS100 jets. "As part of this information process, we included questions within last August's Ipsos Reid survey which were designed to gauge Torontonians' opinions on new-technology jets at Billy Bishop Airport and offer a benchmark for ongoing analysis," continued Wilson. "The January poll found that the net proportion of those who support the Porter Airlines' proposal to allow jets at Billy Bishop Airport has held strong over the past six months."

Of those polled, 61 per cent of Torontonians, and 63 per cent of those living south of Queen Street, support the use of jet aircraft at Billy Bishop Airport provided they make no more noise than the current Q400 aircraft. This compares to the August 2013 survey where 60 per cent of Torontonians, and 50 per cent of those living south of Queen, said they supported the use of jet aircraft at Billy Bishop Airport. Overall opposition to jets at Billy Bishop Airport decreased to 35 per cent in January 2014 from 37 per cent in August 2013.

These are some of the findings of a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Toronto Port Authority. For full tabular results, please visit http://bit.ly/1bIIBVx.

Methodology
The telephone survey was conducted amongst a representative, randomly-selected sample of 702 adults living in Toronto, including a sample of 300 residents living downtown south of Queen. Ipsos Reid employed weighting to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflected that of the adult population according to Census data.

A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of sample of ± 3.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what would have been had the entire adult population of Toronto been polled. The margin of error would be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, methodology change, coverage error and measurement error.

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 300 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, visit www.ipsos.ca.

About the Toronto Port Authority (www.torontoport.com)
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, the Port of Toronto (Terminals 51 and 52), and Toronto's Outer Harbour Marina. In addition to moving more than two million passengers through the airport in 2012, the Port Authority provides transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port, and owns and operates Toronto's largest freshwater marina. The Toronto Port Authority was incorporated on June 8, 1999, as a government business enterprise under the Canada Marine Act as the successor to the Toronto Harbour Commissioners.

SOURCE: Toronto Port Authority

Media Contact: 
Deborah Wilson
Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Toronto Port Authority
Tel: [phone] or 416-846-6119 (mobile)
Email: [email protected]

Ipsos Reid Contact:
John Wright Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Ipsos Reid
[phone]
[email protected]