Montrealers Mostly Satisfied, But Amalgamation Still a Thorny Issue
Those who live in the municipalities that left the unified city in 2006 are clearly opposed to the concept.
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(12/20/10) -
Residents of the Island of Montreal are mostly happy with the status quo, but the amalgamation and subsequent split remains a contentious issue, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In 2002, the City of Montreal was merged with 27 municipalities, effectively creating a unified city that occupied the entire Island of Montreal.
In 2004, several municipalities—totalling close to 13 per cent of the population of the island—voted to abandon the new unified city and became reconstituted municipalities.
In 2006, the de-merger left 15 municipalities as part of the unified city.
In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,103 people who live in the Island of Montreal, 62 per cent of respondents who live in the city of Montreal say they are satisfied with the way things are going in their city.
However, those who live in the municipalities that de-merged in 2004 (87%) are more likely to be satisfied with the way things are going than the residents of pre-merger Montreal (60%) and those who live in the municipalities that stayed in the unified city (65%).
City of Montreal
Three-in-ten respondents in Pre-merger Montreal (30%) believe things are worse in the city since the merger, while 17 per cent believe things are better now. One third (34%) regard the merger in a positive light, while two-in-five (39%) say it was bad.
More than half of Montrealers (56%) believe the merger of cities had little or no impact on them.
De-merged Municipalities
More than a third of respondents in the de-merged municipalities (36%) say things are worse now than before the merger, while one-in-five (20%) say things are better. Just one-in-five (20%) think the merger was good, while almost two thirds (65%) see it in a negative light.
A majority of respondents in the de-merged municipalities (56%) say the merger of cities impacted them either “a lot” or “moderately.” However, if they had to cast a ballot again on whether to merge with the other municipalities in the Island of Montreal, two thirds of respondents in the de-merged municipalities (66%) would vote against the plan.
Merged Municipalities
Half of respondents in the merged municipalities (49%) say things are worse now than before the merger, while only 12 per cent report an improvement. About a quarter of respondents (27%) think the merger was good, while more than half (55%) regard it as bad.
Respondents in the merged municipalities are divided on the effect of the merger, with 45 per cent reporting an impact, and 46 per cent feeling they were not affected. If a referendum on staying in the unified city took place, 34 per cent of respondents in the merged municipalities would vote to remain as part of Montreal, while 36 per cent would vote to leave the city.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President, Public Affairs
+514 409 0462
jaideep.mukerji@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From December 15 to December 17, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,103 randomly selected adults who reside in the Island of Montreal and are Angus Reid Forum panelists. 803 of these respondents live in the city of Montreal while 300 live in de-merged cities. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.9%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the Island of Montreal. Discrepancies are due to rounding.
