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Dalton McGuinty is positioning himself as the experienced provincial voice and a buffer between a federal government "based in the West" and an opposition that comes mainly from Quebec.

For eight years the Liberal Leader has run the Ontario government, and winning four more would not only be good for the province but for the country, he said in an interview this week in a downtown Toronto hotel.

"We have a federal majority government based in the West, we have an Official Opposition based in Quebec," he said. "We need a strong voice for Ontario."

Mr. McGuinty is demanding the Prime Minister agree to another 10-year health accord, with an emphasis on seniors' health. He stressed that he and Quebec Premier Jean Charest are the only premiers left who helped negotiate the 2004 health accord.

"It's only me and Charest now," he said. "There's been a big turnover … and I think it's really important we have an experienced voice at that table. Not just for Ontario but somebody who has had the opportunity to talk about health care and education, somebody who has had the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world and get a better understanding of the global economy."

It's a contentious position and is clearly meant to counter Stephen Harper's bold statement this summer to conservative Toronto Mayor Rob Ford that he hoped to "complete the hat trick" in the Ontario election on Oct. 6.

The Prime Minister did not refer to Progressive Conservative Tim Hudak by name, but he was clearly suggesting a Tory win in the province would mean a blue Ontario – municipally, provincially and federally.

With no clear ballot question in this election and no clear frontrunner, the 56-year-old Mr. McGuinty is attempting to frame his own story. Up against two rookies, the PC's Mr. Hudak and the NDP's Andrea Horwath, he is depicting himself as a steady hand in troubled economic times.

But Mr. McGuinty has been forced to defend his record on taxation, where he is clearly vulnerable – in the 2003 election he pledged not to increase taxes, only to bring in a controversial health premium a few months later.

He has been running a classic campaign for a party in power – controlled and careful. Although it has been running smoothly, he was tripped up this week when one of his own candidates wrongly suggested the Liberals were considering a carbon tax, and his team was slow in responding to a challenge about whether the party would raise taxes. Mr. Hudak had demanded he "come clean" with his tax agenda.

"Ontarians have done their share," Mr. McGuinty said during this week's interview. "They have made their contribution. There is no hidden $5.6-billion deficit from which we have to recover."

Still, the Liberal Leader says that, had the recession not happened, he might not be running.

"If we were all on easy street right now and we hadn't been hit by the recession, it might be a different story," he said. "But there are big challenges ahead of us and I'm just very much looking forward to tackling those."

Eighteen months ago, he and his wife, Terri (who has taken a leave from her job as a kindergarten teacher to travel with him on the campaign), sat down and talked about whether he should go for a third mandate. "There is kind of a typical experience as a premier," he said. "You go in, you win a couple, you get out. Go serve on boards, take your head out of the political ringer and take on a much more private life."

Even if the Liberals win, Mr. McGuinty may not be able to form a majority government. This week, the NDP's Ms. Horwath mused publicly about playing "kingmaker" if either the Liberals or Progressive Conservatives win a minority government.

Mr. McGuinty, however, won't even contemplate a minority or talk about an accord with the NDP, which David Peterson entered into in 1985 with then NDP leader Bob Rae.

"As leader of my party and captain of my team," Mr. McGuinty said, "we have one objective in mind and that is to win the cup."

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