Dalton McGuinty has been the Ontario Premier for the last nine years, since 2003. McGuinty recently declared that he will be resigning from his position as of April 2013, when a new Liberal leader will take his place.

Rumors have flown that he will be running for federal Liberal leadership, if this is the case, he has up until a certain date to join the running. Not to mention, this is a huge decision to make, but he does have a strong election team that has previously helped him remain the Premier of Ontario; twice in a majority and once (currently) in a minority government.

McGuinty was encouraging other ministers to also step down take a good look at their lives and potentially run for a higher political position. According to McGuinty, the Liberals are in a time where they need renewal; perhaps it would do others good, too.

Ever since the announcement of McGuinty’s resignation, there has been a legislative halt. All the government business that McGuinty was in charge of has been shut down by his prorogation of Ontario parliament. Some of these are sensitive subjects that may be the potential reasoning for the resignation. Teachers unions are upset with the proposition of a wage freeze, the reasoning of which was that the wage freeze would eventually make back the $14.4 billion of tax-payer money that was lost in funding two major gas plants that were started projects, but never opened.

Although McGuinty may be feeling the pressure now, he has made some good moves over the past nine years. Some of these successful moments include shortened wait times in health care, cleaner air, the strictest and cleanest water system that has ever been in place, full day kindergarten, and most important to students; the thirty percent tuition rebate. This rebate helps education stay within the reach of all levels of families, giving about $700 to college students and $1,600 to university students.

Regardless of the next step for McGuinty, he is liable to hear flack from his followers and opponenets. He will likely take some time off but will still involve himself in the political world; however, no future plans have been stated. Rumors spread that his family wanted out of the political life and they urged him for change.

As in any political ruckus, there are people who strongly like and dislike McGuinty. He has not stated whether he will run for the federal Liberal leadership or not. Although nothing is confirmed, it is hard to see his political career simply ending here.