Drug-using Toronto mayor more popular than Obama

Rob Ford, the crack-smoking mayor of Canada’s Toronto, has a higher approval rating than Barack Obama, according to a new survey.

The British Daily Telegraph wrote on Saturday that a Forum Research survey of 1,049 Toronto voters found 42 per cent approved of the job Ford has been doing as mayor of Canada’s largest city.

Although it is a two point drop from two weeks ago, it is up from the 39 per cent approval rating he had before he admitted smoking crack cocaine.

By comparison, earlier this week Obama’s popularity slumped to an all-time low, with only 37 per cent of Americans approving of the job he is doing.

The result suggests that Ford could still be competitive in next year’s municipal election, although only 33 per cent of those polled said they would vote for him in 2014.

Ford swept to power in 2010 with a pledge to cut costs at city hall, winning 47 per cent of the vote, as two left-leaning candidates split the rest.

“What we can see from this is that, to his core supporters … who comprise about one third of the voters in Toronto, Rob Ford is a viable candidate for mayor,” Forum President Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement. “Nothing more he can do will surprise them or put them off.”

Ford’s admission that he smoked crack “in one of my drunken stupors” followed police revelations that they have been investigating the mayor as part of a drug investigation.

Ford has also admitted he bought illegal drugs and has driven after drinking.

While Ford’s core supporters remain loyal, the poll showed a strong majority of Torontonians believe he is not fit for office.

Six in 10 said he should resign, and the same number said they approve of recent measures to shift much of his authority to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly.