OTTAWA - Ontario's Liberals will win a third consecutive majority in 2011, Premier Dalton McGuinty predicted Saturday as Conservative Leader John Tory accused the Liberals of "premature arrogance'' that he said would make them easier to defeat.

McGuinty told about 1,000 delegates to the Liberal's annual general meeting in Ottawa that he is confident in the government's plan to deal with the slowing economy and declining revenues, and said the Conservatives' call for more corporate tax cuts was "simplistic, naive and ultimately ineffective.''

Ontario Liberals will never apologize for their unshakable belief in the desire to lift each other up and lend a helping hand to those who need it, McGuinty said to the cheers of party faithful.

"That's a party I am honoured to lead, and that's a party that will win a third straight majority in 2011,'' he said, sparking a standing ovation.

Liberal colleagues denied published reports about some cabinet ministers who had been quietly organizing leadership campaigns before McGuinty said Friday that he not only expected to survive a leadership review this weekend, but he would be sticking around to lead them in the next election as well.

"I can't think of a better guy to work for or with,'' said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, who lost the leadership to McGuinty in 1996.

"I can't imagine that any of those people named have either formally or informally done anything but support the leader, as (Health Minister) George Smitherman said, to the hilt.''

After his speech, McGuinty angrily dismissed suggestions he may have to raise taxes to fund government programs if Ontario's economic downturn gets any more severe, and lashed out at reporters for daring to raise the issue.

"Listen, why would you raise taxes in a time of economic challenge?'' he asked. "Not even the NDP support that. So you can play with that, but listen, it's just silly.''

McGuinty seems to dislike questions about tax hikes after breaking a promise not to raise taxes in his first term by introducing a new health care premium of up to $900 for every Ontario worker.

But Tory said McGuinty and the Liberals clearly have failed to develop a plan to protect Ontario jobs and deal with the faltering economy, and claimed the government was "shrugging off'' problems such as the deadly C. difficile bacteria outbreak in hospitals.

"They're literally a few months into a second term and I think they're showing signs of arrogance that normally would have taken them two full terms to arrive at,'' Tory said in Ottawa.

"I just think there's going to be a day of reckoning for them and I'm happy if they stay arrogant and complacent because that'll make it easier -- I'm not saying it's going to be easy -- to take them down.''

After saying Friday he had no plans to meet with federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion during the weekend meeting, McGuinty introduced Dion during his keynote speech Saturday and asked delegates to give him a standing ovation.

Dion returned the favour by praising McGuinty's government and lashing out at Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for beating up on Canada's largest province simply because it is governed by Liberals instead of Conservatives.

"Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Harper should stop, it seems to me, to fight the government that Ontarians chose and should work with Mr. McGuinty in a positive way,'' Dion told reporters.

"It's what Canadians hope and are asking for, that their governments, whatever their partisanship, are above that and work together for the good will of the people.''

McGuinty declined to make any predictions about how many Liberals will reject the idea of a leadership review during their weekend vote, but there's little doubt of the outcome for the man who led the party to its first back-to-back majority governments in 70 years.