There is a method in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s madness. Firing Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) chair Paul Godfrey. Forming a four-minister task force to review rules for renewable energy projects. Negotiating with the horse-racing industry.

All these seemingly unrelated actions have one purpose. Winning back rural Ontario.

Most of the 18 Liberal seats lost to the opposition in the last provincial election were in rural Ontario. It was northern and rural voters who said no to a Liberal majority government.

Former premier Dalton McGuinty governed from his bunker at Queen’s Park. He saw the big issues of the day through a metropolitan prism. His government developed a big city “we know best” attitude that infuriated rural voters.

His rural MPPs and cabinet ministers told McGuinty about the deepening sense of Liberal abandonment in their ridings. But he wasn’t listening. Almost all of them went down to defeat as a result.

This didn’t go unnoticed during February’s Liberal leadership race. Every candidate talked about the needs of the North and the hinterland.

Wynne was no exception. She promised to take on the role of minister of agriculture and food. She’s committed to bringing back the http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2702 and supporting a sustainable horse-racing industry. She called for more municipal control over the siting of wind farms, and funding for roads and bridges in small communities.

Now she’s starting to deliver.

Paul Godfrey took OLG some distance toward modernization. But he made a couple of major Toronto-centric mistakes along the way. Early in the process, without consultation, OLG announced it was cancelling the Slots at Racetracks Program that gave the industry about $345 million in slots revenues annually.

It was a death sentence for the 14 rural racetracks and hundreds of horse breeders across the province. Together they employed about 60,000 people. The push for higher profits from slots blinded the OLG board to the economic impact of their decision.

Godfrey’s second mistake was personally fronting the OLG campaign for a casino complex in downtown Toronto. Godfrey’s deal-making reputation enticed some of the world’s largest casino operators to team up with leading developers. They dazzled Torontonians with a series of megaproject proposals.

Godfrey upped the ante in January. He dangled between $50 million and $100 million in hosting fees if Toronto approved a casino. This amount went well beyond the formula being discussed with other cities.

Wynne stepped in soon after becoming premier. She told Godfrey to develop a funding formula to be applied uniformly to all municipalities. No special deals for Toronto.

Wynne used the occasion to make it clear: the OLG modernization program had to treat all of Ontario fairly.

Wynne recently tasked four of her cabinet ministers to find ways for local residents to have a greater say in locating renewable energy projects — particularly wind. The Green Energy Act took away the right of municipalities to apply their regular planning and zoning controls to these projects.

As a result, dozens of massive corporate wind farms have been built in rural communities against their wishes. These farms are visual intrusions into otherwise pristine countryside. They’ve prompted a growing chorus of complaints about property devaluation, noise, vibration and other health effects.

Ten of the 18 seats lost in 2011 were in rural ridings targeted by anti-wind coalitions. They made the election a referendum about halting wind farm development and restoring local decision-making in their communities.

The ministers of energy, environment, municipal affairs and rural affairs all know there are serious reservations about the cost, reliability and necessity of power being supplied under Green Energy Act. A vague project approval announcement made on Thursday by Energy Minister Chiarelli is still being deciphered. Meanwhile, rural voters are looking for a moratorium on renewable energy projects followed by an objective review of the act. Anything less will not change rural hearts and minds.

Wynne is also negotiating new financial agreements with racetracks across the province. This sector will receive about $200 million annually, about half of the former level of support. But it’s enough to save jobs and sustain a smaller industry — one that needs to work on improving the entertainment value of horse-racing.

The Wynne budget allows her to implement other promises made to rural and Northern Ontario. These include a $100-million program for roads and bridges for small communities, and a $314-million increase in general support for rural municipalities.

Northern Ontario gets a special cabinet committee, $360 million in lower electricity rates, more infrastructure spending, and support to develop the mineral-rich “Ring of Fire.”

For Wynne, this is only part of a bigger challenge: rebranding a tired, scandal-ridden government. But despite the political baggage she’s carrying, the polls at mid-May showed the Liberals slightly ahead of the PCs for the first time in over a year, and leading the NDP by 10 points.

Somebody out there must like what Wynne’s done in her first 100 days.

R. Michael Warren is a former corporate director, Ontario deputy minister, TTC chief general manager and CEO of Canada Post. r.michael.warren@gmail.com