Minority government has not been kind to Ontario’s Liberals. A minority is one thing but the pre-election gas plant relocations almost proved fatal.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has breathed new life into the government. She saw her first budget approved in the Legislature and has moved her party’s polling numbers back into re-election territory.

Now, with most of the betting on a spring 2014 election, the big question is what the Wynne government can do to accelerate out of a close pack and towards re-election.

It’s a question the premier has been discussing with her cabinet, senior staff and the head of the public service.

There is more policy in play than some pundits have suggested. For starters, progress on transit, education, health and social assistance reform, but we can expect much more this fall:

· Wynne and Transportation Minister Glen Murray have launched a Big Transit strategy, including this week’s announcement of a Scarborough subway extension but Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was quick to claim credit for that. The enigma of Ford is part of Ontario’s political weirdness right now. Ford proves that making it up as you go can work in politics. This forces you to either love the guy or suffer the embarrassment of his high school mentality. But Wynne and Murray have picked a couple of big transit lanes and will drive them as far and fast as they can;

· The government will announce next steps in its response to Michael Fullan’s report on 21st Century Learning. And things are looking much better in Ontario’s schools. There was good news this week from a study on the impact of full-day kindergarten programs and with the roll-out of new kindergarten spaces. This is good news for parents and kids. The labour peace that has broken out in Ontario’s schools has been mostly overlooked. It’s not as newsworthy as a war. Wynne can take huge credit for turning an ugly situation around, as can teachers’ unions and school boards. Parents will understand and appreciate the changed atmosphere in schools more than anyone else;

· The government’s initial responses to the Lankin-Sheikh report on reforming social assistance in Ontario will be rolling out in the coming weeks. This will include increases to disability support payments and an increase in how much can be earned by social assistance recipients before support payments are clawed back;

· The opposition has stalled some important pieces of business-friendly and consumer protection legislation – including protection from unfair cell-phone contract practices. Expect Wynne to shine more light on these initiatives and to hold the opposition account for the logjam. This was prefaced Friday in Health Minister Deb Matthews’ and House Leader John Milloy’s statement on fast-tracking tanning bed legislation;

· In the big-ticket area of finance, we can expect to hear more about the government’s plans to balance the budget by 2017 but without the “austeria” that preceded the arrival of Wynne’s administration. Further steps on public sector pension fund consolidation along the lines suggested by consultant William Morneau are in the cards and decisions will be made on new funding sources for transit;

· Wynne will be pressed to put some meat on her agenda for job growth. If premiers had their hands on the job dial their tenure would be guaranteed but at the sub-national level the levers are few and far between. Sure bets in the months ahead will be investment attraction initiatives and efforts to close the gap between skills development and hard-to-fill vacancies, especially in trades. Further gains in high school graduation rates will continue to be a priority;

· Health system transformation led by Minister Matthews will intensify in an effort to achieve the right care at the right place at the right time. Holding the line on spending will be critical. Keeping the increase in health spending below 3% this year would be a major achievement given that historical annual increases have averaged 6%;

· A long term plan for energy should be announced in the coming months. Oil pipeline safety, First Nations consultation processes, conservation measures and consumer protection measures are also being discussed;

· And on the assumption that the opposition parties will continue to stall the government’s legislative agenda, Wynne’s staff will have put out a call to ministries to identify policy and regulatory changes that can be implemented without legislation. The big players here will be finance, consumer services, environment and labour.

Wynne has been a game changer in reaching out beyond the Queen’s Park precinct and listening to people and stakeholders but she also needs a solid policy agenda. In view of the short runway, the sooner it’s out there the better.

Dean: What to expect now we’re expecting an election

Read this for free.