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Once boasting approval ratings in the mid-80s, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s popularity has hit a new low just months from his bid for a third term.

A new Mainstreet poll commissioned by Postmedia shows Nenshi’s personal popularity has sunk to 56 per cent, while those who disapprove of the 2014 winner of the World Mayor Prize have risen to 41 per cent. And Mainstreet’s monthly tracking poll of the mayor shows the gap between those numbers has narrowed over the past three months.

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But even with Calgarians heading to the polls in October and a veteran city councillor vying to oust Nenshi from the mayor’s chair, Nenshi remains the easy favourite in the race.

Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research, said it’s normal for a politician to see their numbers ebb heading into a third term, and Nenshi is no exception.

“The third term is the danger zone — that’s when politicians are beginning to reach their potential shelf life,” he said.