If and when Justin Trudeau announces a bid to become leader of the federal Liberals, the Montreal MP will have plenty of support in Toronto, a new poll suggests.

With Trudeau as their leader, the Liberals would claim 40 per cent of the vote in Toronto if an election were held today, thanks to a surge in support from backers of the NDP, according to a Forum Research poll released first to CP24 on Monday.

The lion’s share of the votes for a Trudeau-led Liberal Party of Canada would come from current NDP supporters, as 30 per cent of respondents who identified themselves as NDP boosters said they would switch allegiances to back the son of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

“We may have Truedeaumania all over again if Justin is running,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff told CP24. “This is the age of the brand and you can’t beat the Trudeau brand.”

In second place, the Conservatives would claim 30 per cent of the vote in Toronto, while the NDP would finish third with 23 per cent, according to the poll.

The figures were released a day before Trudeau is expected to end months-long speculation and announce his bid for the Liberals’ top post.

Without Trudeau, it would be a much tighter race – the Liberals would score 31 per cent of the vote, compared with 32 per cent for the Tories and 30 per cent for the NDP, Forum Research said.

Majority back Ford as football coach

In addition to Trudeau’s appeal as a leader, respondents were asked about everything from their approval of Toronto’s Ford brothers and the mayor’s role as a high school football coach to city council term limits and the plastic bag ban.

Controversy has swirled around Ford’s volunteer position as a football coach because of allegations he used his influence and aides for football activities, including claims he used paid members of his staff to run a trio of teams.

Ford has denied any wrongdoing.

In response to the accusations, Forum Research asked respondents if Ford should give up coaching football while he serves as mayor.

About half of respondents – 51 per cent – said no, 35 per cent said yes and 14 per cent were undecided.

Mayor’s approval rating remains steady

As usual, the poll asked people to sound off on their support of the mayor, with 41 per cent saying they approve of the job he is doing, down one per cent from a month ago.

The mayor’s approval rating peaked at 60 per cent in February 2011, just a few months after he was sworn in, and has steadily decreased since then.

Ford’s biggest supporters are people aged 65 or older (50 per cent approve of him), Progressive Conservative backers (81 per cent) and people whose primary mode of transit is their own vehicle (49 per cent).

“The kind of problems that he gets into with the driving and everything else are common types of problems that everyone has and that has really resonated with some Torontonians,” Bozinoff told CP24.

The mayor scored poorly with people aged 35 to 44 (34 per cent approve of him), those who rely on the TTC or other public transit services (34 per cent), and those who count cycling or walking as their primary mode of travel (22 per cent).

Ford's brother wields too much power?

As for his brother, Coun. Doug Ford, 43 per cent of respondents approve of the job he is doing, but many think he wields too much power at city hall.

According to the poll, 52 per cent agree Doug Ford has too much influence on city business.

"Mayor Ford's brother is as well-liked as he is, but there is a sense he oversteps his authority,” Bozinoff said in the report.

Here are some other highlights of the poll:

• Six in ten Torontonians favour term limits for city councillors (59 per cent) and the mayor (61 per cent)
• 41 per cent of respondents approve of a five-cent TTC fare increase for 2013
• Almost six in 10 are “very satisfied” with the city’s fire services, while just one-third are “very satisfied” with police services
• 46 per cent of people are “very satisfied” with their garbage collection and waste disposal
• Half of Torontonians disapprove of the plastic shopping bag ban, 45 per cent of people are in favour of it
• If a provincial election were held today, 34 per cent say they would vote NDP, 32 per cent say Liberal and 29 per cent say PC

Forum Research said the poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday by an interactive voice response system among a randomly selected sample of 833 Torontonians who are 18 years of age or older.

Results based on the total sample are considered accurate to within four per cent, 19 times out of 20, although subsample results will be less accurate.

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