Former Ontario PC Leader John Tory has climbed to the top of the leaderboard in Toronto's mayoral race, a new poll suggests.

The Nanos Research survey -- which was conducted for the Ontario Convenience Stores Association -- shows that 39.1 per cent of respondents would vote for Tory if an election were held today.

Olivia Chow -- who was considered the frontrunner in a June 23 Forum Research Poll -- had the support of 32.7 per cent of respondents, while incumbent Rob Ford came in third with 21.7 per cent support.

"Rob Ford has little growth potential at this time given that he is not the second preference for many supporters of either top two contenders," the survey said. "His current support is higher among young men under 30 and lower among women."

The telephone survey, which polled 600 Toronto residents between July 2 and July 5, also asked respondent what they felt is the most important electoral issue. The top-ranking issues are public transit (34.8%), high property taxes (17.1%), jobs and the local economy (16.4%) and traffic (14.1%).

The poll also asked respondents about:

The likelihood of voting on Oct. 27: A majority of the respondents (65.6%) said they intend to cast their ballots in the fall, while 21.9 per cent said they are “somewhat likely” to vote.

A majority of the respondents (65.6%) said they intend to cast their ballots in the fall, while 21.9 per cent said they are “somewhat likely” to vote. Who undecided voters are leaning towards: Among the respondents who said they are unsure of who they would vote for, 10 per cent indicated they are leaning towards Chow. Tory came in second with 5 per cent, followed by Ford and mayoral hopeful Karen Stintz, who both tied at 1 per cent.

The poll is considered accurate within plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.