Toronto election 2014 : John Tory holds ‘Significant’ lead in new poll

Toronto, A new Nanos Research poll pegs Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory as the leader of the pack, holding a “significant advantage” before October’s municipal election.

Commissioned by CTV News and The Globe and Mail, poll results released Tuesday surveyed 1,000 people between Aug. 27 and 31. Pollsters asked participants if an election were held today — who would they vote for?

“If there was an election right now, it would be a Tory sweep, very clearly,” researcher Nik Nanos explained to CTV News.

Numbers pull Tory ahead with 42 per cent support from respondents; Rob Ford with 28 percent; Olivia Chow with 26 per cent; and David Soknacki with three percent. One percent also voiced their support for fringe candidate Sarah Thomson.

If a trend in latest poll numbers can be extrapolated about the current state of the city’s mayoral race, Tory has emerged as the leader to beat.

Ford decided to drop out of two mayoral debates this week last-minute, upsetting organizers. His brother Coun. Doug Ford explained the decision to reporters on Tuesday, saying the mayor would be going door-to-door with volunteers instead, canvassing the west end neighbourhood of Jane and Finch.

“We’re going to be hitting probably over a thousand homes vs. 60 people in a basement,” Coun. Doug Ford told CP24 News. “The people want to see the mayor at their front door — they don’t want to see him in a basement somewhere with 20 other people playing party politics.”

Last week, a poll conducted by Forum Research suggested Ford was making an improvement, closing the gap on Tory despite his approval ratings remaining the lowest among candidates.

Toronto voters head to polls on Oct. 27.