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After months of speculation, George Smitherman is making the move to municipal politics.

Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Energy Minister confirmed in an interview Sunday that he is leaving Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet to run for Toronto’s mayoralty in November, 2010.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long, long time,” George Smitherman said. “In my mind, in my heart, I’m settled on doing it.”

The downtown Toronto MPP informed Mr. McGuinty Sunday of his resignation, and will make an announcement Monday. He will be replaced as energy minister by Gerry Phillips, who held that job in 2007-08, but the government will not name a new deputy premier.

Mr. Smitherman, who ran the campaigns of former mayor Barbara Hall, had seemingly hoped to wait until the provincial legislature adjourns in December before making the move.

But the ongoing rumours about his political future made his presence in cabinet increasingly untenable, particularly because of disagreements with colleagues over the implementation of Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

He insists that his relationship with Mr. McGuinty remains strong.

“ I'm putting a lot on the line. ... But it feels so right to me, because I have every confidence about the outcome. ”— George Smitherman

But sources have suggested he was upset by a lack of support from cabinet colleagues, after it was leaked to the media that he had been confronted by other ministers over a wind-energy deal with South Korea’s Samsung Group.

“Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of unnamed commentary, but that is the way it is,” Mr. Smitherman said. “Some people choose to conduct themselves in more nefarious ways. That’s not my style, but I haven’t let that bother me too much, because I never had any sense that there was anything but confidence from my boss.”

That Mr. Smitherman has ended a long and mutually beneficial working relationship with Mr. McGuinty could pose major risks to both men.

For the conflict-averse Premier, Mr. Smitherman’s aggressive approach has been an extremely useful counterbalance. Although often heavy-handed – he has the reputation of being difficult to work for – Mr. Smitherman was praised within government for the results he achieved as the province’s health minister from 2003-08, most notably in imposing accountability measures on hospital administrators. Recent fallout from the eHealth scandal has seen some of that record questioned, but the fact that he remained in charge of implementing the government’s ambitious green-energy agenda proves he retained Mr. McGuinty’s trust.

On Sunday night in a statement, Mr. McGuinty lauded Mr. Smitherman for reducing wait times in hospitals and spearheading the Green Energy Act that will help create 50,000 jobs “while fighting the effects of climate change.”

“And as an MPP, George has consistently stood up for the underdog, championed the rights and the needs of his constituents and used his considerable gifts and talents serving the people of his community,” Mr. McGuinty said.

Well, that was awkward

George Smitherman's departure from the Ontario cabinet doesn't go as smoothly as he might have hoped

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In a cabinet made up mostly of mild-mannered personalities, Mr. Smitherman’s departure will leave a big void. And there will be concerns about further confusion being cast on the government’s alternative energy plans, particularly since Mr. Phillips likely will be a short-term replacement.

In return for his efforts, Mr. Smitherman had unusual autonomy. Repeatedly flexing his muscles on local matters, he has sometimes appeared to be Toronto’s most powerful politician – more so, even, than incumbent Mayor David Miller, with whom he has repeatedly sparred.

Running in next year’s election, with former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory likely his strongest competition, Mr. Smitherman will put that reputation to the test.

“I’m putting a lot on the line,” Mr. Smitherman acknowledged yesterday. “But it feels so right to me, because I have every confidence about the outcome.”

To try to achieve that outcome, he will vow to bring the same force of personality to municipal politics that he has to Ontario’s legislature. While pledging to make job creation a centrepiece of his platform, he suggested it is his experience – more than specific policies – that will give him the edge.

“Anybody can come up with a platform,” he said. “But who has a track record of determination to actually see things through? I think that is a strength of my candidacy; I’m a person who has a track record of transformational action.”

“So many people have said to me, ‘the mayor has no power,’ ” Mr. Smitherman said. “In a certain sense, my candidacy is to challenge that.”