Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty announced Friday that Dwight Duncan will stay on as finance minister when legislature resumes, reiterating his campaign promise of stable leadership in shaky economic times.

Fresh off his re-election, McGuinty told reporters in Ottawa that he's already asked Duncan to work on an "economic update" for Ontarians.

"The update will report on the global economic uncertainty and its impact on our province," he said.

Duncan's reappointment comes on the heels of McGuinty's four-week long election campaign in which he stressed the importance of consistent leadership in the face of a mounting debt and deficit.

Election results suggest McGuinty managed to translate his message into votes. He swept into office for the third time on Thursday evening, winning 53 seats in legislature.

CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said McGuinty's campaign was reminiscent of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's campaign for federal leadership in May.

"Dalton McGuinty very wisely followed the policy and the election strategy of Stephen Harper which was: These are tough economic times. You need a strong, stable majority government," he told CTV's Canada AM.

After running the longest minority government in Canadian history, Harper earned a hard-won minority.

But victory is bittersweet for McGuinty who campaigned on the hopes of a "three-peat" Liberal majority, which he needed one more seat to achieve.

Though McGuinty got his job back, the minority leaves his returning Liberals with a weaker legislative muscle.

Ontario hasn't had a minority government in 26 years. Liberal David Peterson held the last one between 1985 and 1987.

It's unclear how the province's freshly-split legislature will move forward, but McGuinty told CTV Toronto on Friday that it was clear Ontarians wanted him to work with PC Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

"They want us to keep moving forward, they want us to do this together," he said. "I think there is a broad understanding that in an era of globalization, with so much uncertainty out there, we are only 13 million in (Ontario), so we have got to be focused and we have got to be tight. We've got to move forward together.

"We will be focusing on jobs, the economy, stronger health care and stronger education."

McGuinty said there will predictable sticking points between the three parties, but expects that representatives at Queen's Park will find a way to operate effectively.

"I think those relationships are always important and I think there in heavy expectation on the part of all Ontarians that we find a way to make it work. I think we do have some good, common ground from which to work."

Possibility of forced co-operation

While a power struggle seems inevitable, a political science professor said the split legislature could force parties to co-operate in the next session.

"One of the benefits of a split vote is we may actually have to see some co-operation and discussion between the parties,'' McMaster professor Peter Graefe told The Canadian Press.

Graefe adds that McGuinty may approach a minority government differently than Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper held the longest minority government in Canadian history before earning a hard-won majority last May. During his time as a minority leader, opposition parties threatened to bring Harper's government down over several issues.

"Not that McGuinty's necessarily the biggest consensus politician, but I don't think he will always be testing and trying to punish the opposition parties in the way Harper did and play games of brinkmanship,'' Graefe said.

McGuinty may even be able to find a Progressive Conservative to fill the speaker's chair in Queen's Park, said Fife.

Fife told CTV's Canada AM that some Tories may be unhappy with Hudak losing a double-digit lead during the election campaign.

Though the Liberals ultimately lost 19 seats, the election is still notable for McGuinty. It's only the second time in Ontario a Liberal premier has won three terms.

With files from The Canadian Press