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Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made it clear yesterday that he will campaign vigorously against Opposition Leader John Tory's promise to fund non-Catholic religious schools, which he said would threaten the stability of the entire public education system.

Mr. McGuinty said the plan to extend public funding to other religious schools will be a "defining issue" in the Oct. 10 provincial election.

"I'm hoping to grab Ontarians by the earlobes and say, 'It's not just another election. It's not just business as usual. It's about the kind of Ontario you want,' " he told reporters yesterday.

Vote for the Tories, he said, and children of different religious faiths will be invited to be segregated in private schools. Give the governing Liberals a second term, he said, and his party will build on the foundations of stability and progress he said have been made during its first four years in office. Mr. McGuinty prides himself on his government's track record for making labour peace with the province's teachers, reducing class sizes in early grades and raising test scores.

As all three major political parties in Ontario begin staking out their ground for the campaign, financing for religious schools is one of the few issues that shows a sharp difference between Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Tory.

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, who is running against Mr. Tory in the Toronto riding of Don Valley West, said the proposal threatens the stability of the system because it would strip about $500-million out of public schools, which would start to "deplete" all the gains made by the Liberals.

"I think it's a bad policy initiative," she told reporters.

Mr. Tory accused the Premier yesterday of "fear mongering" and pointed out that Ontario is the only province that pays the entire cost for students who attend Roman Catholic schools and none of the costs for students who attend Islamic, Jewish or other faith-based schools. Six other provinces fund faith-based schools, he said on CBC Radio's Here and Now. "They have not seen public education disappear as we know it," Mr. Tory said.

The parties have very different ideas of what the defining issues will be during the campaign, which officially kicks off in 18 days when the writ is dropped.

The Tories plan to make leadership and Mr. McGuinty's track record of broken promises front and centre in their campaign.

"The defining issue of this campaign is going to be leadership," Tory MPP Elizabeth Witmer said yesterday.

She criticized Mr. McGuinty for his pre-election spending spree adding up to about $26-billion. The spending promises come from the same person who broke a promise in the 2003 campaign not to raise taxes by imposing the $2.6-billion a year health-tax premium, Ms. Witmer said.

Mr. McGuinty's broken promises will also be a theme for the New Democrats. The Premier had promised to reverse the offloading of costs onto municipalities introduced by former Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, said NDP MPP Peter Tabuns. Mr. McGuinty took a step toward that promise this week by announcing that the province would assume responsibility for some social programs that cost municipalities $935-million a year.

That is far less than what cities need, Mr. Tabuns said. "Dalton McGuinty promised to end the Harris legacy. He didn't do that and cities are still suffering," he told reporters.

Key campaign issues

The Ontario Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party have not yet joined the Progressive Conservatives in unveiling their platforms

for the Oct. 10 election. But here's a glimpse of key areas each party will focus on when the writ is dropped on Sept. 10:

LIBERALS

Further improvements to education, a priority during the Liberals' four years in office. Premier Dalton McGuinty announced last week that school boards would get an extra $182-million for the coming school year.

Further improvements to reducing waiting times for medical procedures as part of Mr. McGuinty's focus on bolstering the health-care system.

The $650-million fund to help the automotive sector lure new investment focused on environmentally friendly technologies will also figure prominently in the campaign.

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVES

The need for strong leadership that is honest and fair.

An effective economic plan to create jobs and ensure the province can invest in public services such as health care and education.

An accountable, honest government that treats taxpayers' money with respect.

NEW DEMOCRATS

Fairness. The party will campaign on the growing gap between the affluent and everyone else and continue to talk about the 25-per-cent pay hike the McGuinty government introduced last December for MPPs.

Quality of life, including good jobs, health care, education, municipal services and protecting the environment.

Leadership and Mr. McGuinty's track record of broken promises. The party will contrast that record with NDP Leader Howard Hampton, a leader it says is "hard-working, honest and reliable."

Karen Howlett