The final debate of Toronto’s mayoral campaign starts soon. Live coverage here

Close to 30 per cent of voters say they are either open, or somewhat open, to changing their vote based on how Bradford and Chow perform at tonight’s debate, according to exclusive polling by Nanos Research for CP24 and CTV News.

The survey, which heard from 763 respondents between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, showed that 13 per cent of respondents are open to switching their intended vote based on the debate, and another 16 per cent are somewhat open to changing their ballot.

Roughly 45 per cent of respondents said that they are not open to changing their voting intentions based on the debate, while another nine per cent said that they are somewhat not open to the idea. 

 Former Toronto mayor and CTV News municipal affairs expert John Tory says there is a lot at stake in the debate given that it is a close race.

“It could be that some of the people who are watching will literally decide tonight based on the performance of the candidates who they're going to vote for,” Tory says.

"That's unusual because normally by now there's a gap of four or five or 10 -- some number of points. But I think right now we see what amounts to a statistical tie between Mr. Bradford and Ms. Chow. So, I think tonight is going to be consequential, and they're all going to be trying to put in their best performance that they can.” 

Tory believes voters will be watching to see who among the two is ready to lead.

“The election's at hand, and I think more than judging a particular policy, people are going to say, "Does that person look ready to lead? Are they cool?”

He adds that the candidate who will keep their temper will win the debate.

“I think if they get into a lot of this fighting that often goes on, where they're yelling over each other, both of them will lose from that. And if one does it and the other doesn't, the one that stays cool, I think, is going to be the one that you know does better out of the debate,” Tory says. 

CTV News anchor Michelle Dubé is moderating the debate and says the issues that matter most to Torontonians will be discussed, including affordability, cost of living, traffic, transit, and public safety.

“This is a chance to potentially sway voters,” Dubé says.

She adds that voters can also look forward to the candidates asking each other questions. In addition, Chow and Bradford will also get to respond to questions sent by viewers.