Ontario has traditionally been the engine of the Canadian economy.

With the release of a report from the Toronto-Dominion bank last week that indicates our province is teetering on the brink of 'have-not' status, it is clear that Ontario is quickly becoming the caboose of Confederation.

For the first time ever, Ontario's per capita GDP, a measure of our wealth, has fallen below the national average.

When Dalton McGuinty came into office, we were roughly $2,000 above the national per capita GDP. This means that our wealth relative to the rest of the provinces has declined and fallen behind the pack.

Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation pointed out that under Mr. McGuinty's watch, private sector job creation has grown by 2.1 per cent, the last in Canada, while the public sector grew by 15.5 per cent.

Mr. Gaudet wrote in a recent column, "There are now 101,882 more people employed by the provincial government than when Mr. McGuinty took power. That is triple the provincial population growth rate, which only grew by 5.3 per cent. Over a similar time frame, the private sector only generated 108,000 net new jobs."

Premier McGuinty's reaction to this news is disheartening, to say the least.

One of his typical responses to bad economic news is to replay the old Bobby McFerrin hit from the 1980s, Don't Worry, Be Happy.

He tries to change the channel by talking about other things like banning pesticides, allowing clotheslines, or banning sushi.

If it's not "Don't worry, be happy," it's "We need more money from Ottawa."

You would think that a premier worth his salt would say, "There's no way that I would let Ontario slip into have-not status, come hell or high water." He should call in the top ministers on the economic files and say, "How are we going to reverse this decline? There is no way, under my mandate, that I would allow Ontario to become a have-not province." That's what a Premier showing some modicum of leadership would say.

Instead, he talks about the $20 billion that the province sends to Ottawa. He makes it sound like if that money came back, it would all go into the provincial treasury. It is a completely fallacious argument because the provincial government doesn't send any money to Ottawa. Taxpayers do when they pay their Federal taxes.

What McGuinty is saying is that Ottawa should cut Federal taxes to the tune of $20 billion so that he can hike provincial taxes by the same amount.

Some may say that I am "talking Ontario down" - which is like blaming your doctor for pointing out your unhealthy lifestyle.

What we know is that Ontario is blessed with smart, hard-working people, tremendous resources and an unbeatable location.

We should be leading Canada - as we used to - not trailing it.

Jim Wilson is the Conservative MPP for Simcoe-Grey.