Ontarians will be going to the polls for the third time in almost a year after a municipal election last October and a federal election last May.

Nelson Wiseman, political science professor at The University of Toronto, told thedailyplanet.com that Ontarians are suffering from election fatigue but interest will pick up closer to election date.

“There was an election in the spring and that took a lot of oomph out of people. We’re going to get a lot more focus because more and more media are reporting on it,” said Wiseman.

Emma Reilly, reporter at The Hamilton Spectator, has been talking with voters throughout the campaign and told thedailyplanet.com that personal income taxes seem to be the dominant issue.

“One of the first things out of people’s mouths is taxes. It seems to be the first and foremost issue for people,” said Reilly.

Another leading topic among voters is the Harmonized Sales Tax.

“A lot of people are concerned about the HST and just how expensive things are and how expensive life is,” said Reilly.

Alongside the issues, the relative strengths of the party leaders is important at this stage, said Wiseman.

While the seasoned Liberal leader and Premier Dalton McGuinty held his own during the campaign, "I think [NDP Leader Andrea] Horwath is doing well and [Progressive Conservative leader] Hudak has come down. But his numbers were higher before people got to know him,” said Wiseman.

But Reilly said voters she’s talked to feel the opposite about Hudak.

“They like Tim Hudak because they think he’ll work well with Stephen Harper and it would be a positive thing,” said Reilly.

The provincial leaders debate is on September 27 at 6:30 p.m. on all the major television networks. Ontarians go to the polls October 6 but advanced polls are open now until September 30.

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