TORONTO, Ont. - The campaign for the Oct. 6 Ontario election has officially begun, Wednesday.
Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, accompanied by his wife Terri, got things rolling shortly after 9 a.m. by visiting Lt.-Gov. David Onley to formally ask for the dissolution of the legislature.
On his way up the stairs to the lieutenant governor's office, a smiling McGuinty spoke briefly to reporters.
"Looking forward to this [...] hang on to your hats folks, it's going to be a good one," McGuinty said.
He was still smiling when he left the the office about 25 minutes later, and said he had a good conversation with Lt.-Gov. David Onley and is going to have a more important conversation with the people of Ontario.
McGuinty then headed to the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga for a Liberal Party rally where, in attendance was long time Mayor Hazel McCallion.
As he spoke to the crowd of people McGuinty joked that every day he was grateful he did not have to run against McCallion, who has held her post for 32-years.
Although she did not speak to the crowd, the Premier told 680News he believes she is on his side, along with many other mayors.
"Yes I do, and I think I have the support of many representatives and municipalities around the province, and I'll tell you why. The last guy's, the PC's, downloaded billions and billions of dollars of new costs, unwanted social services in particular, on our municipal partners," said McGuinty.
Having McCallion's support could be big for the Liberals and experts say the party that can get the most support in the GTA will likely win the election.
McGuinty is seeking his third straight majority and faces what all polls predict will be a tight race against rookie Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.
The two have been sparring for weeks, with Hudak calling McGuinty the Tax Man, while McGuinty said the Tories have been taken over by the Tea Party.
New NDP Leader Andrea Horwath had her buses ready to go early Wednesday morning, while Hudak's campaign has been on the road for more than a week already.
Going into the month-long campaign, the Liberals held 70 of the 107 seats, the Progressive Conservatives 24, the New Democrats 10 and three seats were vacant.
While 13 parties are officially registered, recent polls have suggested the three main parties -- the Liberals, Tories and New Democrats -- will determine who forms the next government.
Forming a third straight majority government would cement McGuinty's place in Ontario history but many observers say the incumbent premier has a hard row to hoe over the next four weeks.
Both the Conservatives and New Democrats have been playing strongly to that sentiment, hammering away at the need for change.
McGuinty himself enjoys little popular support, according to the polls, but neither Hudak nor Horwath -- as rookie leaders -- enjoy particularly high public profiles.
In keeping with McGuinty's self-styling as Ontario's "education premier," the Liberals are, among other things, promising grants to ease the undergraduate tuition burden, more university spaces and all-day kindergarten.
Hudak's Progressive Conservatives are promising to cut taxes and government spending, although health care and education would both get more money.
The New Democrats are also talking about cutting taxes. The party wants to remove the provincial portion of the HST on home-heating bills and, in 2015, on hydro bills.
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Globe and Mail poll found health care is the number one concern for Ontario voters, followed by the economy and taxes.
In all, about 8.5-million people are eligible to vote, but the last provincial election in 2007 had the lowest voter turnout ever at about 52 per cent.
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