Kitchener: 70% Approve of Vrbanovic; Housing Top Issue
October 27, 2025 (Toronto, ON) – A new Liaison Strategies poll for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) finds Kitchener mayor Berry Vrbanovic notching a 70% approval rating with housing the top issue of Kitchener voters.
Conducted from October 22-23, 2025, using interactive voice response technology, the poll surveyed 800 Kitchener voters. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.46%, 19 times out of 20.
Liaison Strategies is one of the most accurate polling firms in Canada. It ranked #1 in accuracy in the 2025 Ontario election and #2 nationally in the 2025 federal election. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC).
David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies, said the following:
If an election were held today Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic would easily win re-election with 75% if he faced his opponents from 2022, Val Neemak (15%) and Manikantan Nair (6%). These results more or less match the 79% he received in the 2022 municipal election when considering the survey's margin of error.
Vrbanovic is very popular compared to his colleagues leading large Ontario cities. His 70% approval rating, and 21% disapproval works out to a net approval of +49. Only Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti was found to have a higher net rating.
Kitchener voters, like their southwestern Ontario neighbours in London, say housing is their top issue with crime behind at 19%, followed by transit at 15%.
Meanwhile, the federal Liberals are in a statistical dead heat with the federal Conservatives, with the Liberals at 41% and the Tories at 42%. The NDP are tied with the Greens at 7% within the city of Kitchener.
All signs point to Kitchener being a battleground in the next election.
It's important to note this survey tested generic party support and not local candidates names, but either way these numbers point to competitive races.
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Detailed Poll Report:
About Liaison Strategies
Liaison Strategies is a national public opinion research firm. With 12 years of experience in Canadian polling, David Valentin, principal, has fielded hundreds of projects at the municipal, provincial and federal levels and appeared across Canadian media to discuss insights. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), Canada’s voice of the research, analytics, and insights profession both domestically and globally.
About the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada
The National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and integrate economic, social and cultural interests of Ethnic communities into the mainstream of Canadian society. NEPMCC represents Canada’s Ethnic Press to the provincial and federal governments and is the major industry association for Canada’s non-official language newspapers, TV, radio and online outlets.