Ontario's Oct. 10 election is being shaped by two huge mistakes made by the two political parties that are the main contenders for government.

The first was Progressive Conservative leader John Tory's promise to fund faith-based private schools, which has provoked a crusade against further dividing children and will cost his party many votes.

The second is Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty's plan to designate a day in February as a statutory holiday with pay.

The promise of an added holiday is such a frivolous gimmick that many will feel insulted that he feels their votes can be bought so cheaply. They find it difficult to believe the Liberals are seriously concerned about real issues and the party will lose a lot of respect.

McGuinty said the holiday, called Family Day, would come at time of year when winters are getting onerous and hard-working Ontarians need a break.

Finance Minister Greg Sorbara added that governments have talked about designating an extra winter holiday for years and this was the time to act.

Neither offered any figures on the cost, but there is no free lunch. Aday off with pay is something that employers, who mostly are in the private sector, will have to pay for and many will find this hard to do in an expected economic slowdown.

The province will pay public servants to be off, although around the legislature complex it looks like some do not do enough work in a day for them to be missed anyway.

The bureaucrats already get an extra paid day off compared to most workers in the private sector, in Remembrance Day, supposedly to honour those who gave their lives in wars.

This is an admirable aim, but it is doubtful that one in 10 attends any services. Most likely spend the day raking the garden or watching TV.

Sorbara is exaggerating in claiming that governments have pondered designating another day off for years. Individual backbenchers have suggested it at times, but not with the backing of their parties, and until now McGuinty has never said a word on it.

It also is not something the public has begged for. A strong minority, as shown by recent by-elections, would be more interested in an increase in the $8-anhour minimum wage, which would be more justified because it is barely adequate to survive on, but which the Liberals say business cannot afford.

The Liberal strategists clearly felt that offering a day off for all would be more novel and upbeat, attract more attention and appeal to more voters, but there also is a danger in it for the Liberals.

They have regained the lead in polls close to the level they need to retain their majority, because of fears about Tory's support for faith-based schools and a succession of low-profile promises they have made costing a total $26 billion.

The Liberals' promises have included more funds for schools and hospitals, hiring more police, planting trees as part of their green program and preserving historic buildings.

The Liberals filled a lot of holes and climbed in the polls without unveiling any single, dramatic program that attracted a lot of attention.

Parties normally steer clear of pulling dramatic new policies out of the hat late in campaigns - and this one has been running since the spring - so as to avoid giving the impression that they are becoming desperate and will do anything to win.

The best example of what happened when a premier offered a dramatic new policy late in a campaign was when David Peterson, the last previous Liberal premier, in trying to hold on, promised to lower the provincial sales tax from 8 to 7 per cent only two weeks from the end of the 1990 campaign.

Voters felt that it was a last-ditch attempt to buy their support and Peterson could not even win his own seat.

By offering voters a day off if they vote for him, McGuinty has started to look as if he will do anything to win and people may wonder what he will offer them next - perhaps a free night playing the province's slot machines?