OTTAWA—In a bold gambit to spook progressives into voting Liberal, Kathleen Wynne says Tim Hudak‎ deserves the first crack at forming a government if he wins the most seats in a minority legislature.

But the Liberal chief was coy about whether she would strike a deal with NDP Leader Andrea Horwath if Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives are unable to gain the confidence of the house to govern after the June 12 election.

“Whichever party gets the most seats . . . has the right to attempt to . . . form government,” she said in Orleans after the second of three Liberal rallies Wednesday.

‎Her high-stakes gamble — which turns parliamentary tradition on its ear — came the morning after a televised debate in which Hudak and Horwath harangued Wynne for the transgressions of predecessor Dalton McGuinty.

“Within that configuration — whatever that is — I will work to make sure the parliament functions,” said Wynne prior to yet another appearance with federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Asked if she would rule out a deal with Horwath to leapfrog over Hudak and prevent a second provincial election this year, Wynne was curt: “I’m not ‎ going to jump to a solution to that particular hypothetical issue.”

Under parliamentary custom, Lieutenant-Governor David Onley should first invite Wynne, as the sitting premier, to form a government.

But her move — designed to jolt NDP-leaning voters into casting ballots for the Liberals to stop a Conservative administration that would eliminate 100,000 public service jobs over four years — suggests she is forfeiting that privilege.

Horwath, whose New Democrats propped up the minority Liberals of both Wynne and predecessor Dalton McGuinty in 2012 and 2013, was not impressed by the Grit strategy that could squeeze her out of contention.

“I have no intention of supporting a plan that kills 100,000 jobs in this province, nor do I have any intention of supporting a corrupt Liberal party,” the NDP leader said in Toronto.

“If you want change and you want to stop Hudak, the NDP is your choice on June 12,” she said later at a lunch-hour stop in Tory-held Oshawa.

Earlier, at a breakfast rally in the NDP-held riding of Davenport, Horwath insisted Wynne was not trying to paint her into a corner by promising to immediately recall the legislature and re-introduce the rejected May 1 budget if re-elected.

Hudak held his only news conference of the day before Wynne’s comments about allowing him form a government.

But last week he said it would be “cheating voters” if the leader who wins the most seats isn’t given the chance to govern.

At dissolution in the 107-member legislature, there were 48 Liberals, including Speaker Dave Levac, 37 Tories, 21 New Democrats, and one vacancy.

All three leaders campaigned hard the day after a debate that a new Forum Research poll suggested was won by Hudak though he failed to close the gap on votes with the front-running Wynne.

The survey conducted in the hours after the 90-minute province-wide broadcast found 33 per cent believe Hudak was the winner compared with 28 per cent for Wynne and 20 per cent for Horwath. Fourteen per cent said none of them triumphed and 7 per cent didn’t know.

Before the telecast, voters who tuned in said they preferred the Liberals over the Conservatives by 37 per cent to 31 per cent. Afterward, the Liberals were at 40 per cent and the Conservatives at 35 per cent.

The New Democrats’ support actually fell slightly from 25 per cent beforehand to 22 per cent.

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Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, who was not invited to debate because his party holds no seats in the legislature, dropped from 6 per cent support to 2 per cent — likely because of his absence.

“While viewers may feel they have an opportunity to refine their choice of candidates, this poll shows that minds are not easily changed by TV events like debates and, if anything, anyone who takes part benefits from the exposure,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement Wednesday.

Using interactive voice response calls, Forum surveyed 307 randomly selected people across Ontario on Tuesday. The poll has a margin of error of six percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

After a rocky debate, where Hudak and Horwath blamed her for McGuinty-era scandals, Wynne found solace at a raucous breakfast rally in Vaughan attended by more than 500 Liberal supporters.

She told them that if she wins the election the legislature will be reconvened and the May 1 budget reintroduced within 20 days.

Even though the election was triggered by the Conservatives and New Democrats rejecting that spending plan, Wynne predicted it would pass even if the Liberals win only another minority government — sparing another $90-million provincial vote.

In Ajax, Hudak said he doesn’t want to give Wynne another 20 days to figure things out when he gave her every chance to explain herself during Tuesday night’s debate.

“I wish she had one idea how she is going to balance the budget in the province of Ontario,” he said.

Wynne played down what even some Liberals admit was an uninspiring showing Tuesday night.

“The debate was a moment in time and I think there are various interpretations of what happened last night,” she told reporters after the rally, pointing out that she was the lone “rookie” on the stage because both Hudak and Horwath debated McGuinty in 2011.

Forum’s results are bolstered by another snap survey.

An Ipsos Reid online panel poll of 1,000 viewers conducted Tuesday night for CTV and CP24 found 36 per cent felt Hudak won while 30 per cent gave Wynne the nod, 26 per cent preferred Horwath and 7 per cent didn’t know.

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