This is the second poll the Toronto Region Board of Trade (BoT) has taken measuring support for the smart-city development. The numbers show that opposition has increased slightly, with 12 per cent somewhat opposing the project compared to eight per cent in February, and five per cent strongly opposing compared to three per cent previously. (The Logic)

Talking point: Despite over a year of controversy sparking national and international headlines, the poll found that less than half of the respondents are aware of the project at all. At the Collision Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff said the company has tried to reach people and said claims the company hasn’t been transparent are “unfair.” Doctoroff said the company has held dozens—“if not hundreds”—of meetings, engaging with over 20,000 residents. While this is the only poll-measuring sentiment on Sidewalk, it’s worth noting that the BoT has shown a consistent interest in the project. The BoT released a report in January that suggested that the Toronto Public Library should oversee a Civic Data Hub managing the collection and use of data associated with the Quayside project. And, the BoT’s president, Jan De Silva, has been an advocate for the development. On Thursday, De Silva said, “International headlines imply that Quayside plans are facing a wave of protests in Toronto, but that simply isn’t true.”

 

Correction: An earlier version of this story compared February’s Toronto poll results with Thursday’s GTA results. The story has been updated to compare February’s Toronto numbers with Thursday’s Toronto numbers.