For the next three weeks, Dalton McGuinty will remain focused like a laser beam on coaxing a third-straight majority mandate from the people of Ontario.

If successful, the Ontario Liberal leader will keep his job as premier and continue on with the work he has been doing for the past eight years.

But he'll also have to begin planning for the future, as he eyes an eventual departure from Queen's Park and the party he has led for nearly 15 years.

While McGuinty, now 56, is unlikely to be deposed if he leads the Liberals to another victory, political scientists say there are undoubtedly members within his party who are waiting for a leadership opportunity to knock.

"Normally leaders who have been in power for as long as he has been face some pressure from the next generation of leaders," said Cristine de Clercy, an associate professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario.

"So part of his challenge, if he receives a third term, will be to select a new cohort of colleagues in cabinet who potentially will replace him."

But those choices will depend on who gets elected.

Fifty-eight Liberal candidates in this election held a seat in Queen's Park prior to the writ being dropped, while a pack of more than four dozen other candidates are seeking their first electoral victory.

Should McGuinty get another mandate, Ontarians can expect to see a mix of the two groups in his next cabinet, which de Clercy said will help any wannabe leaders make the connections they need to succeed him.

"Cabinet experience is actually a really critical training ground for future leadership contenders," de Clercy said in recent phone interview with CTVNews.ca.

"And of course, the most important thing about being in cabinet is it gives future leadership contenders the ability to network, to build those networks of mutual trust and reciprocity that they're going to need to run for the leadership."

But Kathy Brock, a professor of political science at Queen's University, said it is also possible that there are individuals with Liberal leadership aspirations who are currently not seeking office.

"I think you also have to keep your mind open to people who have left the cabinet, who might consider coming back in another leadership contest as well," Brock told CTVNews.ca.

Case-in-point, several former McGuinty cabinet ministers left office and pursued leadership or other political opportunities outside of the provincial legislature.

Former attorney general Michael Bryant left the Ontario government to lead Invest Toronto, for example, and former health minister George Smitherman ran for mayor in Toronto. Peter Fonseca stepped down from his job as labour minister to make a failed bid for a seat in the House of Commons in the recent federal election.

How well the Liberals do on election day will also have an effect on who might be interested in stepping into McGuinty's shoes, especially if his eventual successor is tasked with rebuilding the party's footing after a defeat.

Should the Liberals win another majority, it could leave some veterans thinking hard about whether a leadership bid is what is best for them.

"One of the things when a government, if a government, comes back for a third term, is sometimes people who are re-elected are tired and they aren't sure they want to take this on. So that opens up the avenue to new people to come in," Brock said.

"And if they're in a minority situation, well, then a lot of people are going to look at their situation, a lot of them have had leadership aspirations in the past. They are going to wonder if this is the type of scenario where they want to take over," she added.

"Or if the Liberals have lost, it will be the same thing: Do they want to be an opposition leader who rebuilds the party as well? A lot of factors come into play, so it's really tough to say."

Dalton McGuinty By the Numbers:

Age: 56

Years of service in the Ontario legislature: 21

Number of elections won as MPP for Ottawa South: 5

Years as Liberal leader: 15 (in December)

Terms as Opposition leader: 2

Terms as Ontario premier: 2

Number of PC leadership changes while serving as Liberal leader: 3

Number of NDP leadership changes while serving as Liberal leader: 1

Liberal candidates with less experience at Queen's Park: 102

Liberal candidates with more experience at Queen's Park: 4