A new election survey shows the Ontario Liberals continue to trail the Progressive Conservatives ahead of this fall's provincial election though the Grits are quickly closing the gap between the two parties.

The Nanos Research poll, completed on behalf of CP24, CTV and the Globe and Mail, shows the Liberals are trailing the PC by about five points.

More than 42 per cent (42.1) of the survey's respondents chose the PC as the party they would vote for on Oct. 6, compared to 37.6 per cent of those who said the Liberals were their first choice.

A Nanos poll conducted in May showed the Grits trailing by about 9 points.

The poll released tonight shows the NDP and the Green Party garnered 16.2 per cent of the vote and 3.4 per cent of the vote respectively.

Nearly 17 per cent (16.9) say they haven't decided who they will vote for.

One thousand Ontarians over the age of 18 were chosen at random to answer these questions through a telephone survey between Aug. 10 and Aug. 13. This poll is considered accurate 19 times out of 20 with a margin of error plus or minus 3.4 per cent.

Though the Liberals have seemingly gained support from the electorate over the summer, the PCs and the NDP appear to have lost some ground. The May Nanos poll showed the Tories with the same amount of support. The NDP's popularity declined by about 2.5 per cent since May, to the same level of support they had in the last provincial election in 2007.

Toronto

The survey shows the Liberals continue to have a strong hold in Toronto, an area where they currently hold all 14 seats.

However, the Liberals could be in trouble in the Scarborough and Etobicoke areas.

Those neighbourhoods, located at the edge of the city, turned mostly Conservative in the federal election this past spring. Voters in those ridings also supported the right-leaning Toronto Mayor Rob Ford during last winter's municipal election.

Currently, the PCs hold five seats in the Greater Toronto Area while the NDP have four seats. The Liberals hold the remainder of the 43 seats.

Some other poll findings of note:

    • Male voters are more likely to vote Conservative
    • Voters over the age of 50 are more likely to vote Conservative
    • Voters under the age of 50 are more likely to vote for the Liberals or NDP

This is the first part of a lengthy survey which will be released over the next several days.