The results of the latest poll in the race to be Winnipeg’s mayor show former city councillor Gord Steeves has dropped to third place, but the candidate said he doesn’t put much stock in the poll and he’s focused on the final weeks of the campaign.
"You know, these polls, when they're good for you, you love them,” said Steeves. “When they're not good for you, you hate them. And the next one will say something completely different."
The Probe Research poll done for CTV and the Winnipeg Free Press showed Judy Wasylyicia-Leis out front with 41 per cent of decided voters, followed by Brian Bowman at 23 per cent and Steeves in third at 16 per cent.
University of Winnipeg political scientist Christopher Leo said the fact Bowman is polling better than Steeves shakes the race up.
"That throws a new element into the political picture and it's just possible that once people see that Bowman has suddenly caught fire, that more people will join,” said Leo.
But he cautions that a lot could happen in the final three weeks of the campaign and said the numbers could change again, something voters already seem cognizant of.
"Frankly, I don't pay much attention to the polls,” said St. Vital resident Lloyd Girman. “In the last number of elections, both here and across the country, and in Ontario certainly, the polls said one thing and in reality the voters said something else."
Heading into the homestretch of the campaign, Steeves promised to focus on the numbers but not the ones released by polling firms.
"I get the sense that this election is not done,” he said. “People have to make up their mind. Do they want a tax increase or don't they? Do they want to go ahead with bus rapid transit Phase 2, or don't they?"
Winnipegers get the chance to answer those questions in the voting booth October 22.
