Mayor Rob Ford’s approval rating is almost unchanged after he apologized for his “mistakes” on his radio show Sunday afternoon, although most Torontonians weren’t satisfied with his expression of regret, a new public opinion poll suggests.

A Forum Research poll conducted Monday suggests 43 per cent of adults in Toronto approve of Ford, a number that is almost identical to the findings of a poll taken Thursday after Toronto police confirmed the existence of a video that allegedly shows the mayor smoking from a glass pipe.

Last Thursday, Ford had an approval rating of 44 per cent, an increase of five percentage points from a poll conducted earlier that week.

“While the mayor's apology didn't have its desired effect of boosting his ratings, at least they didn't fall,” said Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff in a news release. “The remarkable aspect of all this is the number of people who think he's doing a good job, but should resign.”

Ford’s apology did not contain any mentions of the video or allegations of drug use.

Two-thirds of respondents were not satisfied with the apology (62 per cent), while more than one-third said they were satisfied with it (36 per cent).

Forum Research also asked people to weigh in on the mayor’s future.

Almost six in 10 think the mayor should resign (59 per cent), while more than one-third do not think he should resign (38 per cent). Two per cent of respondents offered no opinion.

Of those who admitted to voting for Ford in the past, three in 10 think he should resign, the poll found.

Stintz would defeat Ford in three-way race

The poll also gauged the mayor’s chances against TTC chair Karen Stintz and former councillor David Soknacki, who have both publicly declared their intention to challenge Ford in the 2014 mayoral election.

According to the poll, Stintz would defeat Ford and Soknacki if the three-way mayoral race were held today. Stintz would grab 38 per cent of the vote, while Ford would come in second with 33 per cent and Soknacki in third with eight per cent, the poll suggests.

In a four-way race between those three and MP Olivia Chow, who previously said she is considering a run for mayor, Chow would win with 39 per cent of support, followed by Ford (29 per cent), Stintz (16 per cent) and Soknacki (six per cent).

Former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory previously indicated he is considering a run for the job.

In a five-way race, Chow would come out on top (32 per cent), followed by Ford (26 per cent), Tory (25 per cent), Stintz (10 per cent) and Soknacki (two per cent).

Without Chow, Tory would narrowly defeat Ford (31 per cent to 29 per cent), the poll suggests. Stintz would garner 22 per cent of the vote and Soknacki would pick up four per cent.

Here are some more highlights from the poll:

  • Fourteen per cent of those who approve of the job Ford is doing say he should resign.
  • The majority of voters believe Ford has a substance abuse problem (54 per cent), while one-fifth say he does not.
  • Fifty-three per cent of respondents think the mayor should take a leave of absence to deal with substance abuse problems, compared with 28 per cent who do not think a leave of absence is required.

Forum Research said Ford’s strongest support is among Toronto’s oldest, least wealthy and least educated residents, drivers, property owners and people who live in suburbs, especially Scarborough, where the mayor has been pushing for a subway extension.

Ford’s fiercest opponents are younger, wealthier and better educated Torontonians, in addition to transit users, renters and residents of downtown and East York, according to the poll released Tuesday morning.

The poll is based on an interactive voice response telephone survey of 1,393 randomly-selected Toronto adults and the results based on the total sample are considered accurate to within three per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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