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Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to resign from legislature on Wednesday: report

Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will announce his retirement as the MPP for Ottawa South at a press conference on Wednesday, according to CTV News.

Liberal insider Warren Kinsella suggests that pending announcement — one day after the Liberals passed their budget — may have been part of the plan all along.

"I suspect, but don't know, that he would've wanted to leave right after the selection of the new leader [in January]," Kinsella told Yahoo! Canada News in an email exchange.

"I think he was asked to stay until the budget passed,which it is now done."

[ Related: Ontario Tories accuse Dalton McGuinty of lying about gas plant closures ]

McGuinty came under fire last week when Ontario's Privacy and Information Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian issued a report claiming that, when McGunity was premier, his office broke the law by deleting e-mails related to controversial cancellations of two gas plants during the 2011 election.

For his part, McGuinty has denied any knowledge of the electronic purge.

"I was unaware of discussions between government staff and the Ontario Public Service regarding the deletion of documents," he said in a statement.

"And at no time did I condone or direct the deletion of e-mails or documents which ought to have been preserved."

[ Related: Ontario’s privacy watchdog says McGuinty’s office broke the law by deleting gas plant records ]

'Premier Dad' has also garnered criticism for keeping a very low profile since January when Kathleen Wynne won the Liberal leadership and took over as premier.

On Monday, the Ottawa Citizen published a story titled: Dalton McGuinty, where are you?

He’s only been spotted in the legislature twice this year. He’s never around when you call his Kilborn Avenue constituency office. And he’s ducked reporters and turned down numerous interview requests.

McGuinty, 57, was first elected to Queen's Park in 1990 and served as premier from 2003 to 2013.

His record as premier is up for debate.

At the Liberal leadership convention in January, McGuinty cited improvements to the province's education system, shorter wait times at hospitals and a shift from dirty coal-fired electricity to clean energy as his successes.

Kinsella says that McGuinty was a "winner."

"He had many many policy achievements," he said.

"Politically, however his greatest achievement was to be the winningest premiere in Ontario's recent history."

But, he did have his detractors — especially on the right.

"Dalton McGuinty should have resigned long ago," Stephen Taylor of the National Citizens Coalition told Yahoo!

"He has not attended much of this sitting of the legislature after he prorogued it. He was a slippery Premier when in power and an absentee MPP out of power.

"His legacy will be one of doubling the Ontario debt and making Ontario a have-not province."

[ Related: ‘Premier Mom’ institutes new dress code at Ontario legislature ]

With McGuinty's resignation, Wynne will now need to call three byelections — former Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and Former Energy Minster Christy Bentley resigned earlier this year.

It's expected that the Liberals will have a nomination meeting in Ottawa South later this month.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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