As the Toronto election campaign enters its final week, two mayoral candidates may need to take drastic action if they want to win the race on Oct. 27.

For months, most polls have shown John Tory in the lead, with Rob and then Doug Ford in second, and Olivia Chow in a distant third.

Political analyst Scott Reid told CTV's Canada AM that Ford and Chow will need to change their strategies if they want to gain support by next Monday.

"The reality is, if you're not John Tory, you need to do something dramatic and different in order to affect the trajectory of this race," Reid said in an interview Monday.

He suggested Chow and Ford's last ditch attempts will be to knock Tory off his momentum in the next seven days.

"Nothing crazy has happened in the race to be Toronto's mayor for almost a month, so be afraid in this final week," he said.

Though Chow appeared to be the candidate to beat when she first joined the campaign in March, her support has steadily drained over the months-long campaign. The Rob-and-Doug switch-up in September seems to have had little impact for Ford Nation, but the elder Ford still trails behind Tory.

Interest at all-time high

If advance polls are any indication, interest in municipal politics is at an all-time high.

Last week, Toronto voters broke a city record when more than 28,000 residents cast their ballots on the first day of advance voting. In 2010, 16,000 people voted during the first six weekdays of advance polls.

The overall advance voter turnout in 2010 was 77,391 voters, compared to 161,147 this year.

The number of polling stations available in 2014 is partially to credit for the 60 per cent jump in turnout.

In 2010, only six locations were available, compared to 45 this year.

Strategic voting to play a role

Reid said he expects Tory to have a comfortable lead come Election Day, adding that strategic voting will play a role in the outcome next Monday.

The concept of "anybody but" politics may add to Tory's advantage. Ford has emerged as a polarizing figure - most either love him or hate him - and some of Chow's supporters may swap sides based on polls.

With data showing Chow as a distant third, some pro-Chow voters may "hold their nose" and vote for Tory if they think there's a prospect that Ford could be elected.

One former candidate for mayor even encouraged their supporters to band together to support the candidate with the best chance of beating Ford.

When Sarah Thomson dropped out of the race in September, she cited Rob Ford as her reason. She said her campaign workers had done some polling, and she'd realized she didn't have a chance of winning.

"I'm calling on everyone who is trailing to look at what the polling numbers are, the day before the election if they have to wait, but we all have to come together as a city and stop Rob Ford from getting in."

When she stepped down, she took to Twitter to encourage other candidates to follow her lead.

Thomson has not commented publicly about Doug Ford since Rob was diagnosed with cancer and decided to run for council instead.

CTV Toronto will host the mayoral candidates in one of the final debates on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m.