John Tory is the frontrunner in Toronto’s mayoral race and Mayor Rob Ford is a distant third, according to a new poll.

A Nanos Research poll — commissioned by the Ontario Convenience Stores Association — found if an election were held today, Tory would win with the support of 39.1% of decided voters. Former NDP MP Olivia Chow would place second with 32.7%, followed by Ford at 21.7%.

The poll also found none of the other candidates in the race could crack 5%: Karen Stintz, 4%; Sarah Thomson, 2%; and David Soknacki, 1%.

“(Tory has) got the upper hand right now,” Nanos Research chairman Nik Nanos said Monday.

“The key takeaway is Ford is behind. Ford is clearly in third place, there is not a lot of room for growth.”

The poll — conducted from last Wednesday to Saturday — comes just as Ford returned from rehab and jumped back on the campaign trail.

While Nanos stressed the poll is a “snapshot” with a long way to go to election day, he admitted it looks like a “two-horse race” at this point.

“If this continues to be the trend, then I think Rob Ford is potentially making the transition from a political phenomenon to more a celebrity phenomenon,” he said.

With undecided voters factored in, Tory still leads with 34.2% of those polled while Chow has 27.8%, Ford had 19.1% and 13% were undecided.

The poll found the incumbent mayor did best with younger Toronto residents, under 30, y but didn’t do well with female voters. Chow did best among female voters while Tory did well with male voters.

“(Ford is) in a pretty tight spot right now,” Nanos said.

Around 37% of those polled who would vote for Ford as their first choice indicated Tory was their second choice for mayor.

Nanos said that’s a further sign that “if Rob Ford falters” any further it seems clear that “John Tory is going to be the main beneficiary.”

He said Ford needs to push out a solid platform.

“He’s got to be more competitive,” Nanos said.

As for the most important issue facing the city, around 34.8% of those polled said transit was the top issue while 17.1% said high property taxes, 16.4% said jobs and 14.1% said traffic.

Voters pick a new mayor and city council on Oct. 27.

The poll of 600 Toronto residents is accurate within 4%, 19 times out of 20.