Thousands of people in Barrie have been on the receiving end of not one, but two politically motivated telephone calls.

Questions on both nights this week were similar, polling residents about their voting preferences at all three levels of government. This included whether they'd support Patrick Brown if he were to run for mayor.

It also asked whether they would support Mayor Jeff Lehman if he decided to run for the federal Liberals in 2019.

"Barrie has a love affair with politics right now, and it has since January," says Quito Maggi, president and CEO of Mainstreet Research.

Maggi won't say who commissioned the surveys, but says the data can be important.

"We measure how well those candidates running for different parties might poll above or below the party brand name."

Barrie city councillor Doug Shipley was among the candidates named in the poll. He says he's not surprised by the timing.

"We are approaching election season and people are always considering where to move and where to go to. I just hope whatever decisions are made is the best for the City of Barrie," Shipley says,

Former Progressive Conservative MPP Rod Jackson says many politicians will commission robocalls when they're preparing to run for office.

"It’s flattering to have your name be a part of that, but it doesn't mean anything other than there's some people who are interested in how Barrie politics are looking to pan out in the future."

CTV News reached out to Lehman for comment on the polling, but only said it wasn’t his poll.

As for the results, Mainstream Research says because the surveys were privately commissioned, the data will likely never see the light of day.