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John Tory has surged ahead of the pack in the Toronto mayoral race at the expense of Olivia Chow’s faltering campaign, a new poll suggests.

Tory has 35% support in the August 5-6 survey, with Mayor Rob Ford holding steady at 27% and Olivia Chow dropping sharply to 25%, according to Forum Research.

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The two other contenders in the poll, David Soknacki and Karen Stintz, remain non-factors in the race, polling 5% and 4%, respectively.

It is the first time that Tory has been in the lead during Forum’s polling this year. Chow had led until falling into a statistical tie in a July 21 poll.

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Support for Tory has risen in the Forum Poll since he announced his 53-kilometre “SmartTrack” rail plan — which would see an $8-billion, 22-station construction project based on electrifying existing regional GO lines.

“It seems a lot more voters are finding John Tory shares their views, or else they think he has a heck of a transit plan, because this is a significant shift in support in his favour. In addition, they will vote for the candidate who can beat Ford, and that may be increasingly seen to be Tory,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement.