The Angus Reid Institute has demanded a retraction after Doug Ford called its numbers “fake”
A recent poll showed the premier’s approval rating among Ontario residents to be just 21 per cent
After recent poll results published by the Angus Reid Institute showed Premier Doug Ford’s approval rating among Ontario residents to be just 21 per cent—his lowest ever—the premier insisted the numbers were skewed to make him look bad. (It couldn’t have been the private jet purchase (and near-immediate return) or Ontario Place or OSAP or the Greenbelt or changing Freedom of Information laws. Definitely not any of those things.)
Related: Marit Stiles says Doug Ford could end up in prison if a public inquiry is called
The non-profit polling firm promptly responded with a statement, saying their research is conducted “without fear or favour,” and affirming that they stood by their data despite Ford calling it “fake.”
Per Global News, the Angus Reid Institute has now taken the step of having a legal letter sent to Ford, demanding a retraction.
“I confirm the existence of a legal letter sent to Premier Doug Ford,” the firm’s president, Shachi Kurl, told the outlet.
“Angus Reid Institute stands by its work and its long record of independent, non-partisan public opinion research. We do not intend to litigate this issue in the media, but we do believe the public record should be corrected.”
Ford’s office didn’t respond to Global’s request for comment.
Related: Doug Ford says he’s not bothered by abysmal approval ratings
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
