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Downtown Sudbury Survey Results — SudburyCIA
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Greater Sudbury Civic Intelligence
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Survey Results — Downtown Sudbury

Downtown Sudbury: What Residents Actually Said

192 residents across all 12 wards responded to SudburyCIA's Downtown Sudbury survey. The findings are direct: foot traffic has collapsed, safety perception has reversed sharply, and seven in ten residents oppose $200 million in arena spending while core concerns go unaddressed.

Published: June 2026 Responses: 192 Wards represented: All 12 Source: SudburyCIA independent survey
Methodology note This is a self-selected public survey distributed via social media. Results reflect the views of respondents who chose to participate and are not a statistically weighted random sample of Greater Sudbury's population. Results are presented as civic input data, not as a scientific poll. Full methodology is disclosed at the bottom of this page.

Key findings at a glance

192
Residents responded across all 12 wards
73%
Go downtown rarely or never today
79%
Rarely or never feel safe downtown now
82%
Felt safe downtown most or all of the time in the past
70%
Oppose $200M events centre spending
80%
Cite visible homelessness as a deterrent

Downtown visits: then vs. now

The shift in how often residents visit downtown is striking. In the past, 57% went at least weekly. Today that number has fallen to 20%. The proportion who go rarely or never has nearly doubled — from 30% to 73%.

Frequency 5+ Years Ago Today Change
Multiple times a week 39% 14% -25 pts
About once a week 18% 6% -12 pts
About once a month 13% 7% -6 pts
Rarely 26% 46% +20 pts
Never 4% 27% +23 pts

Safety perception: a sharp reversal

The most significant finding in this survey is the reversal in safety perception. In the past, 82% of respondents felt safe downtown most or all of the time. Today, 79% say they rarely or never feel safe. That is not a drift — it is a reversal.

Felt safe downtown — past vs. now
5+ years ago
Yes, always
35%
Most of the time
47%
Sometimes
10%
Rarely or never
8%
Today
Yes, always
2%
Most of the time
8%
Sometimes
12%
Rarely or never
79%

What is keeping people away

Respondents who go downtown less than they used to were asked to select all reasons that apply. Safety-related concerns dominate. Visible homelessness and general safety concerns were each cited by 80% of respondents — the two most common deterrents by a wide margin.

Deterrents — percentage of respondents selecting each reason
Visible homelessness or encampments
80%
General safety concerns
80%
Cleanliness or upkeep
76%
Panhandling
71%
Parking difficulty or cost
63%
Lack of businesses or things to do
50%
I go just as often as before
6%
Interpretation note Respondents could select multiple deterrents. Percentages reflect the share of total respondents (192) who selected each option, not shares of a sub-group. High overlap between safety concerns, visible homelessness, and cleanliness suggests these are experienced as a connected set of conditions rather than separate issues.

The $200 million events centre question

Council has approved a downtown events centre with a budget of up to $200 million. Respondents were asked whether they support this level of spending. Seven in ten oppose it. Only 8% support it. A further 13% say they need more information before forming a view.

Do you support $200M in events centre spending?
Oppose
70%
Need more information
13%
No opinion
8%
Support
8%
Context required This figure should be interpreted alongside the deterrent data. Respondents who oppose the events centre spending may be doing so because they believe existing conditions need to be addressed first — not necessarily because they oppose a downtown events centre in principle. The survey did not ask respondents to rank spending priorities. That distinction matters when reporting this finding.

Ward representation

Responses came from all 12 wards. No single ward dominated the results. The most represented wards were Ward 1, Ward 6, Ward 10, and Ward 11, each with 20 or 21 responses. The least represented was Ward 8 with 7 responses. Four respondents were unsure of their ward and three preferred not to say.

Distribution note This survey was distributed primarily through social media. Ward representation reflects who saw and responded to the survey, not a proportional sample of each ward's population. Results should not be used to make ward-by-ward comparisons without accounting for the unequal sample sizes per ward.

Methodology

This survey was conducted by SudburyCIA between June 21 and June 2026. It was distributed via public social media posts and community groups. Participation was voluntary and self-selected. 192 complete responses were received. Respondents were not verified as Greater Sudbury residents. No weighting was applied to results. This survey is not a scientific random sample and results cannot be statistically projected to the broader population of Greater Sudbury. All findings are presented as civic input data reflecting the views of those who chose to participate. SudburyCIA is an independent, non-partisan civic intelligence platform. This survey is not affiliated with the City of Greater Sudbury or any political candidate or campaign.

SudburyCIA — Greater Sudbury Civic Intelligence — sudburycia.ca
Non-partisan. Independent. Published June 2026.