Mayor Rob Ford has taken a hit in the polls amid new allegations of substance abuse and crude behaviour.

A new poll by Forum Research has found that Ford has dropped to third place in the mayoral race for the first time with only 22 per cent of respondents saying they will vote for him in October, compared to 33 per cent for Olivia Chow, 27 per cent for John Tory, six per cent for Karen Stintz and five per cent for David Soknacki.

The poll was conducted one day after Ford announced a leave of absence to seek treatment for substance abuse following a slew of published reports suggesting he was again using illicit drugs and drinking to excess.

“It appears there is finally a limit to what Ford Nation will stand for, and the mayor may have passed it,” Forum Research President Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release accompanying the poll. “If he doesn't rejoin the race, John Tory is the beneficiary, as Ford voters will not vote Chow. Her support is focused at the left hand end of the political spectrum, whereas Tory appeals across the middle.”

The number of respondents who said they would vote for Ford was down 5 per cent from a similar poll two weeks ago and 13 per cent from another poll that was conducted back on Feb. 24.

The poll also asked respondents whether they thought Ford should resign and almost two thirds (63 per cent) said that he should, though that number was only up three per cent from a similar poll in December.

Continuing the trend, Ford’s approval rating also took a hit, dropping to 38 per cent from the 46 per cent who said they approved of the job he is doing back on April 14. John Tory enjoyed the highest approval rating with 69 per cent compared to 58 per cent for Olivia Chow, 56 per cent for David Soknacki and 47 per cent for Karen Stintz.

Chow would narrowly win race without Ford

Ford has vowed to continue his re-election bid after getting help at an unknown rehabilitation facility, though many have started to speculate about what a race without the controversy plagued incumbent may look like.

The Forum poll found that with Ford out of the equation, Chow would still win but it would be close with the former NDP MP getting 34 per cent of the vote compared to 32 per cent for Tory, six per cent for Stintz and six per cent for Soknacki. Meanwhile, a total of 22 per cent of respondents said they don’t know who they would vote for in the event of a four-way race.

The telephone poll of 888 random Torontonians is considered accurate to within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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