Christine Elliott is the most popular choice to be the new face of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, according to a recent public opinion poll.

The Forum poll surveyed 751 Ontario voters on Thursday, asking a series of questions about the future of the Ontario PC party after its leader, Patrick Brown, resigned following sexual misconduct allegations from two women.

Sixty per cent of respondents said they approve of Brown’s decision to resign as party leader, while 18 per cent said they disapprove.

While 41 per cent of voters were unsure of whom they would tout to replace Brown, Elliott led a pack of eight potential candidates with 12 per cent, edging Doug Ford, who polled at 11 per cent.

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Elliott, who has positioned herself as a centrist in the past, lost the Ontario PC leadership race to Brown in 2015, earning 38 per cent of the vote. She was an MPP for the riding of Whitby-Oshawa from 2007 to 2015, and serves as the Ontario Patient Ombudsman under Ontario’s Liberal government.

She also ran for Ontario PC leadership in 2009, losing to Tim Hudak.

Ford, who announced that he would run for Mayor of Toronto in this year’s elections, was a city councillor from 2010 to 2014, at the same time his late brother Rob served as mayor.

Ford considered running for Ontario PC leadership in 2013, before deciding to run for mayor in 2014, losing to John Tory.

Eight per cent of respondents said Tory should replace Brown.

Tory has served as mayor of Toronto since 2014, and had a previous stint as leader of the Ontario PC party from 2004 to 2009.

Caroline Mulroney, who is set to be the PC candidate for York-Simcoe in the provincial elections, was chosen by seven per cent of respondents. She is the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Other potential leaders include Lisa Raitt, deputy leader of the federal Conservative Party, and Tony Clement, the public services critic for the federal Conservatives. Both polled at six per cent.

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John Baird, who served as Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, polled at five per cent, and Lisa MacLeod, an MPP for the Nepean—Carleton riding, polled at four per cent.

Forty-two per cent of respondents have decided that they will or will likely vote for the Ontario PC Party. 27 per cent chose the Liberals, and 23 per cent favoured the NDP.

Results based on the total sample are considered accurate, plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ontario's Opposition leader is stepping down amid allegations of sexual misconduct Brown initially refused to step down after two women came forward with graphic allegations, prompting his top staff members to quit But within hours of a tearful news conference where he categorically denied the allegations, he issued a statement saying he was leaving as leader His resignation is a severe blow to his party just months before the province heads to the polls Brown has vowed to defend himself in court.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previously published version to correct that the survey took place Thursday.

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