A new poll finds a potentially tight race in Barrie between two high-profile contenders with council experience.
Forty per cent of respondents to a Mainstreet Research survey say they're undecided after three-term mayor Jeff Lehman ran unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the 2022 provincial election. He lost the Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte riding to PC incumbent and Attorney General Doug Downey by 296 votes.
Lehman remains the mayor but has announced he won't run again.
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The conveniently-named deputy mayor, Barry Ward, garnered the most support in the poll, with 28 per cent of respondents saying they were leaning toward voting for him. Ward was first elected to Barrie city council in 2000. He got the well-timed name-recognition boost of stepping in as acting mayor during Lehman's provincial run.
Trailing closely behind Ward is Alex Nuttall (25 per cent), a former Conservative MP for Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte. He also served on city council between 2006 and 2014.
Former Penetanguishene mayor and Simcoe County warden Gerry Marshall and small business owner Mike McCann picked up four per cent and three per cent of respondents' support, respectively.
The poll didn't ask voters about political newcomer Rob Haverson, who has said he's "<a href="https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/political-newcomer-rob-haverson-wades-into-mayoral-race-5359949" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just shooting for the stars</a>" by running.
The more liberal Ward enjoys 37 per cent support among the 18–49 age range compared to Nuttall's 21 per cent. But Nuttall (33 per cent) has Ward (18 per cent) beat among the 50–64 crowd.
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the current municipal government. Lehman himself enjoys even broader support, with 72 per cent saying they somewhat or strongly approve of him as mayor.
The survey also asked respondents about important issues in the race. Affordable housing was the most important issue — 42 per cent named it as the top problem facing Barrie, compared to 25 per cent who said roads/infrastructure. But critically, 70 per cent said they didn't want any more homes built near them.
All municipal elections in Ontario will be held on Oct. 24.
This Mainstreet Research poll was conducted on July 25–27. A sample of 460 people was interviewed by automated telephone interviews. The poll is accurate to within ±4.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Mainstreet Research is part owner of iPolitics and QP Briefing.

Poll: Without Jeff Lehman, Barrie’s mayoral election is a tossup

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