McGuinty vows to be vocal about Ontario's plight in next federal election

"I think that's my responsibility," McGuinty said in Kitchener, ahead of Harper's scheduled stop in the southern Ontario city.

"I intend to be more vocal than I have been in the past and help Ontarians fully understand the nature of our economic challenge."

Ontario is getting less than other provinces when it comes to employment insurance benefits and health-care dollars - issues the federal Conservatives still haven't addressed, McGuinty said.

"Our unemployed Ontarians get less funding than do unemployed Canadians living anywhere else in the country, and we get less money for health care than do Canadians living anywhere else in the country," he said after unveiling $21 million in provincial funding for the expansion of Conestoga College.

"We'd love to see the prime minister speak to that specifically and find a way to address it."

It was a familiar refrain by the premier, who has sparred with Harper before over Ontario's ailing economy and what McGuinty considers to be Ottawa's unfair treatment of the province.

Led by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the federal Tories have pressed the Ontario Liberals to slash corporate taxes even further to spur more investment in the province, which has seen massive layoffs in its troubled manufacturing sector.

McGuinty has resisted those calls, saying he's cut business taxes already and won't jeopardize much-needed revenue to fund the province's social programs.

The feud escalated to personal insults and barbs earlier this year, with Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello calling Flaherty a "cartoon character" after he criticized how the Liberals were handling Ontario's economic downturn.

Flaherty, who once held Ontario's purse strings as its finance minister, retaliated by saying the province's high business taxes make it the "last place" in Canada to start up a new business.

McGuinty, once dubbed the "small man of Confederation" by the federal Conservatives, shot back with a sharply worded letter to Harper, accusing Flaherty of undermining confidence in Ontario and failing the province by not using the hefty federal surplus to stimulate its economy.

The war of words died down after polls suggested the bickering was backfiring on the Tories and costing them crucial support in vote-rich Ontario.

McGuinty's pledge Tuesday to ramp up the rhetoric seemed to be aimed squarely at Harper, whose whirlwind tour through southern Ontario has heightened speculation that an election will soon be called.

The federal Conservatives were shut out of Toronto in the 2006 election, which handed them a minority government.

Harper's Tories aren't to blame for Ontario's current economic woes, though it's their responsibility to address it, McGuinty said.

But any campaign designed to win over Ontario voters by throwing a few dollars their way isn't going to cut it, he warned.

"I know there are some things that all the federal parties will want to do that will speak to Ontario's needs on a short-term basis," McGuinty said.

"But my concern is really the long term. What are we doing to do to address some of these issues that have been dragging on now for decades?"

Yet the Liberal government has been missing in action this summer as the province's economic troubles deepened, said Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.

In a letter to McGuinty ahead of Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Tory again called on the Liberals to provide an economic update to clarify the current state of the province's finances.

"In our view, the economic reality confronting thousands of Ontario families and businesses is very grim and requires urgency and action on the part of your government, not empty reassurances and excuses for inaction," Tory wrote.