QUEBEC - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will raise the concerns of Canadian provinces and territories when the premiers meet with Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Carney is scheduled to deliver a presentation to the country's 13 premiers during a breakfast gathering of the Council of the Federation in Quebec City.

McGuinty said Thursday he's looking forward to the opportunity to meet with Carney to discuss the economic challenges faced by Ontario and the rest of Canada.

"There's no doubt about it, we've been seized with a sense of real urgency when it comes to the economy," the Ontario premier told a news conference.

McGuinty stopped short, however, of revealing whether he plans to ask the central bank for interest-rate relief to lower the strong Canadian dollar.

"Obviously, I'm going to impress upon him the specific challenges and opportunities associated with the Ontario economy," he said.

"That means we're going to have a good conversation."

The high dollar is partly to blame for troubles within Ontario's manufacturing sector.

McGuinty said despite losing "thousands and thousands" of manufacturing jobs since 2003, Ontario is experiencing positive growth.

He predicts the province will continue to create more jobs than it loses.

On Thursday, Carney released the Bank of Canada's quarterly monetary policy report update.

Its analysis of the Canadian economy was surprisingly upbeat despite the central bank's warning earlier this week of spiking inflation.

The Bank of Canada said Canadians across the country are profiting from the ongoing commodities boom and helping to rescue the economy from recession.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, meanwhile, told reporters he will wait to hear what Carney has to say before offering suggestions on how to help Canada's economic situation.

Stelmach, whose province's economy is booming, said inflation is a major issue.

"I'm concerned about inflationary pressures, most of those are driven by increase in the cost of energy," he said Thursday.

"The territories will see a very significant increase in the cost of heating their homes and generating electricity because today diesel is their only option.

"So there are some serious issues for our partners around the table, but I'll wait until tomorrow (Friday) and see what he has to offer."

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