TORONTO - Election preparations are top of the agenda as Ontario Liberals hold their annual general meeting, but the 1,000 delegates will also be talking about recent polls showing most voters think it's time for a change in government.

The Liberals knew the introduction of the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax on Canada Day would be unpopular, but it turns out to have been only one of many problems the government ran into this year.

In addition to being severely criticized for a so-called secret law governing police powers during the G20 summit and being forced to backtrack on new eco fees introduced the same day as the HST, the Liberals have been facing almost daily attacks for rising hydro bills.

The opposition parties blame Liberal green energy polices for sending everyone's electricity bill higher, a problem that was compounded by adding another eight per cent to costs when the HST was slapped on electricity as well as home heating bills and gasoline.

The New Democrats, after repeated attacks in the legislature, had the Liberals promising to stop publicly funded hospitals, universities and municipalities from paying lobbyists to lobby the government for more taxpayer money.

After McGuinty said such lobbying was not in agreement with his government's principles, the NDP revealed Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli was a paid lobbyist for Algonquin college until a week before he was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate in an Ottawa byelection.

While the New Democrats conceded Chiarelli did nothing illegal they said the "optics are terrible."

Liberal campaign co-chair Greg Sorbara, the former finance minister, was scheduled to fire up the party troops by speaking at an opening rally Friday night, with Premier Dalton McGuinty to deliver his keynote address Saturday afternoon.

McGuinty will have to reassure the party faithful the Liberals can recover from their recent poor showings in public opinion surveys and win a third consecutive majority government.

The Progressive Conservatives started campaign television ads this week -- even though the election isn't until Oct. 6, 2011 -- depicting a hand picking money from a wallet as a voice says "Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals just keep taking from your household budgets."

Only then does the ad introduce party leader Tim Hudak, suggesting the Tories feel pocketbook issues are really hurting the Liberals and helping the Conservatives, even if people don't know who Hudak is.

The Liberals will hold half a dozen different campaign workshops, repeating them through the weekend, including one on how to counter the opposition and "fight back against dirty tricks and half-truths." That session will be led by Liberal backroom strategist Warren Kinsella.

The Liberals will also hear from Rahaf Harfoush, a member of U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign team and author of "Yes We Did: An Insider's Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand," and from Kerwin Swint, author of "Mudslingers: The 25 Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time."

Delegates will also get a chance to question Liberal caucus members about the party's policies and fortunes during a session Saturday morning, but like most of the weekend convention, it is closed to the media.