TORONTO -- Delegates from across Ontario started voting Friday for a new provincial Liberal leader and the province's next premier at a convention in Toronto.

There were no big lineups as delegates, most of whom are committed to a specific candidate for the first ballot, cast their votes as they moved through the registration area at the former Maple Leaf Gardens, the site of outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty's leadership victory in 1996.

Leadership contender Harinder Takhar was in early to register -- refuting reports that he's either been a stalking horse for front-runner Sandra Pupatello or that he's made a deal with fellow candidate Gerard Kennedy.

"I'm not making any deals, I'm going for the top job," Takhar said.

Interim federal Liberal Leader Bob Rae also registered Friday morning, but would not say who he's supporting in the provincial contest.

"I'm not backing anybody (publicly)," Rae said in an interview.

"I've decided who I'm supporting on an individual basis but I don't really feel it's appropriate for me as interim leader to come in and say this is who I'm supporting."

The convention floor itself, on a hockey rink two stories above the old ice surface in the historic Gardens, was to be closed most of Friday while the candidates rehearse their presentations for their final half-hour pitch to delegates Saturday morning.

The leadership convention was not scheduled to officially open until Friday evening when the party pays tribute to McGuinty.

A handful of protesters gathered outside the Liberal convention Friday morning, but teachers angry over imposed contracts and the Ontario Federation of Labour plan a large demonstration Saturday afternoon.

The results of delegate selection meetings two weeks ago put Pupatello and Kathleen Wynne in the lead in committed support for the first ballot, with the results of that vote expected shortly after noon Saturday. Second ballot voting begins immediately after that.

About 1,800 selected delegates and another 400 so-called ex-officios -- party executives, current and former members of the legislature, MPs and even defeated candidates -- are eligible to vote for the new leader at the leadership convention.

Many predict the Liberals are looking at a three- or four- or five-ballot convention, which means the race could go on until late Saturday, or even early Sunday.

The race was triggered when McGuinty stunned Ontarians and his own party when he announced his resignation Oct. 15, and prorogued the legislature.

In recent years, his minority government has been rocked by scandals, including the costly cancellation of two gas plants, a police probe at the province's air ambulance service and a nasty fight with public school teachers.

Pupatello, a former Windsor-West MPP, heads into the convention with the most committed first-ballot delegates, 27.4 per cent, and with about one-quarter of the ex-officios on her side.

Wynne, who represents Toronto-Don Valley West, is a close second in delegate support at 25 per cent, and is seen as Pupatello's closest rival for the premier's office.

Kennedy, who lost the 1996 leadership race to McGuinty, was in third place in delegate support at 14 per cent, followed closely by Takhar, the former government services minister, at 13.25 per cent.

Also running are former labour minister Charles Sousa, who pulled almost 11 per cent of first-ballot delegates, and former children's services minister Eric Hoskins, who finished last in delegate support at 5.6 per cent.

There has already been talk of pre-convention attempts at deal making for support on the second ballot, but all six candidates insist they're in it to win it, at least publicly.

Observers will be watching the convention floor closely Saturday to see which candidate appears to have momentum, and which one is ready to take their supporters to one of the front-runners to help put them over the top.

Second-ballot voting is expected to begin around 1 p.m. Saturday, and only the last place candidate will be forced off each ballot until one of them gets over 50 per cent. However, that doesn't prevent other candidates from withdrawing from subsequent ballots and moving to support one of their rivals.

Pupatello -- who doesn't have a seat in the legislature -- says she would run in a byelection before recalling the legislature. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has offered to vacate his seat so Pupatello can run in his Windsor-Tecumseh riding if she wins.

Kennedy, who lost his job as an MP in 2011, also doesn't have a seat, but says he would recall the legislature as soon as possible and run concurrently in a byelection.

The question many Ontarians will be asking Sunday morning is: Will the province be heading for an early general election, or will the new leader try to work with one of the opposition parties to keep the minority government alive.

Political parties frequently use the publicity generated by a leadership race to launch into a general election, and the new Liberal leader could decide on that strategy, said Bryan Evans of Ryerson University in Toronto.

"They're going to be looking hard at the kind of bump they get coming out of the convention," he said.

"I'm sure they will (get one), but will it be sufficient to inspire confidence so they can win a general election? Only the (winner) and the people around them can be the judge of that."

Henry Jacek, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, said the Liberals know they're in third place in popular support right now and likely couldn't even win another minority government, so they're in no hurry for a general election.

"The party is saying we need somebody who's going to carry us over the next two years," he said.

"There are going to be a bunch of people saying we don't want to turn the government over to somebody else right away."