Ontario Liberal Leader creating job plan a week before the election

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Dalton McGuinty is attempting to burnish his credentials as the best leader for uncertain times by retooling a key plank in his economic platform at the 11th hour.

The Liberal Leader said on Wednesday that he will spend the next few days on the campaign trail putting a big focus on creating jobs and making sure Ontario's economy remains strong. There were no details on precisely how he plans to do this, but Mr. McGuinty said the renewed threat of a global recession is forcing him to take proactive measures.

"It would be nice to say that the clouds that have been gathering, had been dissipating but in fact, they are not," he told reporters following a campaign stop in Brampton, west of Toronto.

Mr. McGuinty is essentially making policy on the fly just eight days before Ontarians go to the polls. He will announce additional job creation measures that were not spelled out in the campaign platform released on Sept. 5.

He is in a neck-and-neck race with Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, and the two are drawing new battle lines as the campaign heads into its critical last week. Both Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Hudak are positioning themselves as the candidate who can stand up to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and win concessions for the province.

Whoever is elected premier will soon end up at a table negotiating a new health accord for the province. During Tuesday evening's televised leaders' debate, Mr. McGuinty told viewers that his rival wasn't up for the job.

He resumed the attack Wednesday morning as he raised the spectre of the so-called "Ontario hat trick." Mr. Harper mused about a conservative triumvirate during a barbecue this summer at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's family compound – Tories in Ottawa, Queen's Park and in Toronto.

"Can you imagine Tim Hudak at the table with Stephen Harper negotiating a 10-year health accord?" Mr. McGuinty asked supporters at a rally in Vaughan. "A conservative hat trick may have a nice ring for some people, but I think we need to ensure we have a champion for Ontario."

According to Mr. McGuinty, that just so happens to be him. He took to the airwaves just days before the campaign officially began, trying to persuade voters that they don't have to love him – he was trailing well behind Mr. Hudak at that point – but they should choose the leader who is the best custodian of Ontario.

"Well," he says, staring directly into the camera, "the polls tell us I'm not the most popular guy in the country. I accept that. Doing what's right is not always doing what's popular."

The 60-second television ad was the first indication that Mr. McGuinty would campaign for a third term in the Oct. 6 provincial election by borrowing a page from the federal Conservatives. Mr. Harper won a majority in the recent federal election by positioning himself as the leader with the strongest grip on the economy.

But he spent much of the 90-minute debate on Tuesday on the defensive over his flagship job-creation strategy, unveiled in 2009. He says building wind turbines, solar panels and other forms of renewable energy will create 50,000 new jobs. His rivals assail the fact that renewables will saddle electricity consumers with higher hydro bills.

Mr. McGuinty said job-creation measures he plans to announce will build on the programs that helped Ontario families through the last recession. These included funding to help those who lost jobs in the manufacturing sector return to school and learn new skills.

"There are things we can do in a fiscally responsible way to spur job creation," a senior Liberal said.

For his part, Mr. Hudak also positioned himself as a defender of the province on Wednesday. He criticized Mr. McGuinty over the spending scandal at eHealth Ontario and the unknown cost of pulling the plug on a power plant in Mississauga that is already under construction.

"I'll always fight to put Ontario first," Mr. Hudak told reporters on Wednesday. "Dalton McGuinty can't stand up for Ontario any more because he's loaded down with a billion dollars on his back from eHealth and the whole Mississauga power-plant fiasco. How can you go and ask for more money at confederation when you've blown so much money on waste?"

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story that appeared online and in Thursday's newspaper incorrectly said that job creation was not mentioned in the Liberal policy platform released earlier this month. The platform mentions creating jobs through measures that include full-day GO Train service, $10-million a year for entrepreneurs and clean-water initiatives.