The dynamics of the Mississauga mayoral by-election are showing signs of evolution, with former councillor Carolyn Parrish maintaining her lead while other contenders gain momentum, reveals a recent poll.
Conducted by Liaison Strategies this month, the poll indicates that Parrish continues to hold the top spot among mayoral candidates. However, Dipika Damerla and Alvin Tedjo, her closest rivals, are narrowing the gap with approximately 11 weeks remaining in the by-election campaign.
Surveying 902 Mississauga voters between March 21 and 22, the poll illustrates Parrish maintaining her lead over six other candidates, garnering support from 18 percent of voters, mirroring the results from a January Liaison poll.
Damerla, who secured 12 percent support in January, witnessed a three-point increase, with 15 percent of survey participants expressing their intention to vote for the Ward 7 councillor.
Meanwhile, Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo experienced a notable five-point surge between the January and March polls, rising from eight to 13 percent support in the recent survey.
Peter McCallion, included in a Liaison poll for the first time this month, gathered six percent support, placing the local businessperson ahead of Stephen Dasko (five percent), George Tavares (four percent), and David Shaw (two percent).
Undecided voters constituted 37 percent of respondents in the March poll. In an interview with the Mississauga News, Liaison principal David Valentin suggested that while there is ample time before June 10, the mayoral by-election appears to be shaping into a “three-way race” between Damerla, Parrish, and Tedjo.
Valentin emphasized the significance of engaging undecided voters, noting that they constitute the largest group in Mississauga and could significantly impact the outcome of the election.
Regarding decided voters, Parrish maintained her lead with 29 percent support in the recent poll, albeit a decrease from 35 percent in January. Damerla maintained her support at 24 percent, while Tedjo experienced a five-point gain, reaching 21 percent among decided voters. McCallion secured 10 percent support from decided voters, according to the poll.
The poll also revealed that crime and affordable housing are the primary concerns among Mississauga residents, followed by traffic and transit issues.
The mayoral by-election, prompted by Bonnie Crombie’s resignation to lead the Ontario Liberals in January, currently boasts 13 candidates as of Monday morning. Notably, registered mayoral candidates Amir Ali, Jamie Dookie, Frank Fang, Syed Jaffery, Peter Tolias, and Nathalie Xian Yi Yan were not included in the poll, which has a margin of error of 3.26 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.