NIAGARA FALLS, Ont - The governing Ontario Liberals will have a whittled-down set of promises and more female candidates when it faces a tough electorate in October's provincewide vote, campaign chair Greg Sorbara said at the party's weekend policy convention.

The finance minister said the Liberals' message this time will be more streamlined than it was when the party was elected on the strength of 231 promises in 2003.

"The difference between then and now is that today, and as we go into the election, we have a record,'' Sorbara said as the Liberals wrapped up their weekend policy convention. "We think it's a pretty darned good record. When you're renewing your contract, you speak to that and what you're proposing in the next period.

"The message is going to be clearer and simpler.''

That platform will be sold by an increasing number of women, Sorbara added. The party is reviewing its campaign and nomination strategies to ensure 50 per cent of its new candidates are women, Sorbara said.

"I think we're going to come very close to that target, if not exceed it,'' added Gord Phaneuf, Liberal party president. "It really is a priority this time. The diversity of Ontario needs to be reflected in the legislature.''

But Premier Dalton McGuinty didn't sound like he wanted a more focused election platform when he addressed delegates at the weekend convention. While some people say the Liberals tried "to do too much,'' McGuinty said he doesn't buy that.

"The cynics ... say you should just do three or four things because that's easy to communicate, that's easy to understand,'' he told the crowd of about 375 delegates. "I would no more limit the number of things we seek to accomplish for the people of Ontario than I would limit the number the number of opportunities I want for my children.''

McGuinty hinted the party's record in Ontario will be front and centre in the election campaign. Residents are better off today than they were just over three years ago, he said repeatedly.

Although opposition parties blast the Liberals for presiding over the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs, McGuinty said more Ontarians are working and the economy is continuing to grow. Echoing government television ads, McGuinty said more children are getting free vaccinations, school class sizes are smaller and people are getting key medical procedures more quickly.

"But there are sectors of our economy facing real challenges,'' McGuinty said. "There are communities in our province not growing as quickly as others and there are still Ontario families who deserve better opportunities than they have today. So we cannot rest. We must keep moving forward.''

That message is the Liberals' best bet for a second mandate since voters haven't forgotten the divisive days of former Conservative premier Mike Harris, said David Docherty, chair of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University. Parents, for example, can be sold by the argument that Liberals have bought labour peace in schools, he said.

"The only days kids haven't gone to school have been snow days,'' Docherty said. "That resonates with a lot of people. It's the best play they've got.''

Having a streamlined platform and a few key promises is a good approach, he added. The opposition continues to label Liberals as promise-breakers because they made too many "dumb'' promises like closing coal-fired plants by 2007, Docherty said.

"They're not setting themselves up this time,'' he said.

The Liberals will be reminding voters not only of their record but that of the NDP and Conservatives. The NDP may have taken three seats from the Liberals in urban byelections over the last three years, but Health Minister George Smitherman said that doesn't mean they have the broad support necessary to threaten the Liberals in October.

As for the Conservatives, Smitherman said they are haunted the cuts made by former premier Mike Harris and the current policies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"It's a scary reminder to Ontarians about the right-wing nemesis that lurks inside the Conservative party,'' he said Sunday.

Conservatives will do their best to show Ontarians have not been well-served by four years of Liberal rule. Under the Liberals, Conservative Tim Hudak said the province has lost 125,000 manufacturing jobs, gridlock is getting worse and people are waiting hours in hospital emergency rooms for treatment.

"I think Dalton McGuinty is going to have one heck of a time convincing voters to trust him,'' Hudak said. "With his broken promises, he makes Pinocchio look like a paragon of honesty.''