Dalton McGuinty loves to sit back at home with a bag of potato chips, a few beers and a movie. While he describes himself as a "regular" guy, he's trying to accomplish an above-average feat -- forming a second straight majority Liberal government in Ontario, something that hasn't been done in 70 years.

McGuinty believes voters approve of the job he's done as premier over the last four years. He says he's brought stability to the province after eight years of divisive politics under the previous Conservative governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.

McGuinty argues the Liberals have helped students improve test scores, reduce hospital wait times and strengthen the economy. He lists education, health care and the economy as the three most important issues currently facing the province.

In an interview with CTV.ca, the 52-year-old leader says one thing voters probably don't know about him is that "I love humour, I like to tell jokes."

But McGuinty faces a challenge in bringing a smile to the faces of all constituents. Many voters haven't forgotten the string of election promises he broke after taking office in 2003.

One of those was to not raise taxes, but he did so by introducing the health care premium in his first budget. The tax costs most residents between $300 and $900 each year.

McGuinty calls the move "the toughest thing I've had to do in government," but said it was needed to improve health care and because the previous Conservatives hid a $5.6 billion deficit from the public.

He also pledged to close all coal-fired power plants by 2007, but the date has been pushed back seven years to 2014.

When asked how he thinks he is perceived by the public, McGuinty says it's a difficult question.

"I'm in here and they're out here. I've had such limited opportunity to get to know them personally, so they by-and-large get to know me through seven-second sound bites, headlines, news stories and the like.

"But I hope that they understand more about me than they did at the outset because they've had a number of opportunities to hear from me and see me. I hope at a minimum they understand what my priorities are."

McGuinty says he "loves" elections because it gives him the undivided attention from Ontarians.

The leader says he's developed a thicker skin and can better handle criticism. Some in the media have criticized McGuinty's robot-like way of speaking. Former premier Ernie Eves once said McGuinty has a "sharp, pointy head."

But today McGuinty appears more comfortable handling media scrums, where he looked uncomfortable and awkward during the early part of his term.

His life

McGuinty was born and raised in Ottawa by his mother, a nurse, and his father, a professor and MPP.

He grew up with five brothers and four sisters in a busy household. McGuinty earned a law degree from the University of Ottawa and opened his own law firm in Ottawa before jumping into politics.

He married his high school sweetheart Terri, an elementary school teacher, in 1980. They had four children in the next five years.

After his father died suddenly in 1990, McGuinty was elected in his dad's former Ottawa South riding. He was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996, becoming Opposition leader at Queen's Park. He boosted the number of Liberal seats in the Legislature from 30 to 36 in the 1999 election.

In the 2003 election campaign, McGuinty had improved his debating skills and presented a platform that included reduced class sizes, hiring more nurses and freezing taxes.

McGuinty defeated then-premier Ernie Eves and formed a majority government.

While he leads the country's most populous province, McGuinty insists he's just a regular citizen.

"What's remarkable about my story is probably the fact that it's so unremarkable," he says on his website, which features home movies, family videos and interviews with his family.

He admits he's a fitness freak, squeezing in about five rowing and free-weight workouts a week. While he says his bench press "is nothing that would set the world on fire," McGuinty says being in shape helps because the role of premier is a physically demanding job.

He aims for at least 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night but rarely gets that, and he usually stays up past midnight catching up on reading and preparing for the next day.

His job duties cause him to be out most nights, but he likes to spend his night off at home reading and watching movies.

While McGuinty has lived in Toronto for a while, he's still a die-hard Ottawa Senators fan.

His hobbies include baking bread, refurnishing furniture, waterskiing and golfing with his sons, although he's a terrible golfer.

Looking ahead, McGuinty says he will continue to focus on creating equal opportunity for everyone and giving back to the community.

When asked what his strangest moment was has been as premier, he tells a story of shopping at a grocery store. McGuinty was wandering down the aisle when an elderly woman hunched over a shopping court recognized him and waited until he approached.

"She says, 'Mr. McGuinty, there's something I need you to do for me.' So I'm thinking to myself, 'Man, it's got to be taxes, health care or energy costs or something.' So I say, 'How can I help you ma'am? She says, 'Get me the cookies on the top shelf for me, would ya,' McGuinty says, laughing.

"Never did I feel more useful in my life as a premier than I did in that particular location."