Kathleen Wynne pitches Liberals as 'change' after 14 years in power

Premier Kathleen Wynnehas a message for voters who think it's time for a change in Ontario: she is all about change.

It's perhaps a surprising message from the leader of a party that's been in power for more than 14 years, facing an election next June.

• Are Kathleen Wynne's Liberals really way behind in the polls?
• Wynne laying out her plan to campaign from the left in 2018

"There's always need for change in Ontario,"Wynnesaid Mondayin a year-end interview withCBCNews. "I believe in good change and we have brought and will continue to bring good change."

Wynne referred to her government as a bringer of change several timesduring the interview, which focused on the looming 2018 campaign, culminating in election day on June 7.

"I believe firmly that the path that we're on, the changes that we've made,thechangesthat we've introducedare in the bestinterestsof the people of the province," she said.

Wynne pointed to two key reforms that will launch on Jan.1: new employment laws, including a minimum wage of $14 an hour, as well as free prescription drugs for children and young adults.

"Thechanges that we're bringing in on Pharmacare and minimum wage ... have taken time," she said.

"There's more change coming," Wynnehinted. "Stay tuned."

'We are not done as a government'

Wynne would not offer any specifics about what she has up her sleeve. I asked her specifically if she is planning an income tax cut ora full-scale provincial child care program, and she declined to answer directly.

"Everythingthat we will do going forward is going to be consistent with what we have already done,"Wynnesaid."There is more to be done. We are not doneas a party, we're not done as a government. Exactly what that's going to look like, I can't tell you right this minute."

She said she does want to make progress on covering prescription drug costs for all Ontarians, calling it the gap in Medicare.Wynneand Health Minister EricHoskinsare "adamant that we need to go forward and help people to be able to cover their medication," she said.

"I'm going to continue to push at the national level for a nationalPharmacareplan. If thatdoesn't happen then we have to have a serious conversation about how we move forward."

The governmentwill bring in a budget in the first few months of 2018, butWynnewould not say if she intends to get it passed before dissolving the legislature for the campaign period. "I'll have to leave that till the new year. There are all sorts of factors that will come into play. I can't tell you exactly what will happen there."

• Duelling drug plans set stage for Pharmacare election
• How the Liberals went from cool to hot on $15 minimum wage

Nor wouldWynnesay whether she will step down if she fails to win the election.

In2018, she will be seeking re-election without a number of her key cabinet members, including Economic Development Minister BradDuguid, deputy premier Deb Matthews and Treasury Board president Liz Sandals, all of whom have indicated they won't run again.

I asked Wynne whether, when she entered politics, she had imaginedthat she would be the premier who would bring in the sale of wine and beer in supermarkets and marijuana in government-owned shops.

"Never in a million years," she replied.