Ford and Trudeau can work together

So what have we here – those one-time sworn enemies Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau suddenly morphing into best friends forever?

The photos of Ontario’s premier and Canada’s prime minister laughing and joking their way through a face-to-face meeting in Ottawa last week certainly gave this surreal impression and must have been a shock to some systems.

Didn’t Trudeau use Ford as a punching bag in last month’s federal election as the PM warned Canadians they were doomed if they elected more conservatives? Wasn’t Ford the guy who last year gleefully declared his intent to engineer Trudeau’s political downfall? What gives with all the nice-guy stuff?

Well, hold on folks. You haven’t entered a parallel universe. There’s more to these pictures than meets the eye. And fortunately, the story is a positive one for the entire country.

With the reality of the federal Liberals’ election victory sinking in, Premier Ford realizes he needs Trudeau to further the Progressive Conservatives’ agenda for Ontario.

First, as he tried to balance his budget without antagonizing the entire province, Ford needs the money only Trudeau’s government can provide. The premier wants billions of more federal dollars for transit projects, most notably a new Toronto subway line.

Ford would love to see a bigger helping hand from Ottawa when it comes to health care, too. But if he expects to see that outstretched hand holding cash, he’d better not bite it.

Second, Ford needs more political friends, or at the very least fewer political foes. Since taking office in June 2018, Ford has riled Franco-Ontarians, the parents of autistic children, environmentalists, the Toronto political establishment along with much of the province’s public sector, most notably the more than 130,000 teachers now considering a strike.

Ford would burnish his public image and accomplish more if he proved that, yes, he can form constructive partnerships instead of turning every political encounter into a bare-knuckle brawl.

Perhaps Ford has realized the job of being Ontario’s premier has a significance that transcends the province’s borders. Ontario is Canada’s most populous and economically powerful province. It has always been a cornerstone of Confederation. Throughout history, many Ontario premiers felt duty-bound to work with Ottawa for the good of the nation regardless of any partisan differences.

We don’t know how much altruism as opposed to pragmatism is guiding Ford. Perhaps he hasn’t really turned into Captain Canada. We do know the country needs more unity than disunity these days. We know Alberta’s and Saskatchewan’s conservative premiers are feeding the anger many westerners feel toward Trudeau.

Ford would do this country a service if he eased these tensions, whenever possible serving as a mediator between the western premiers and the federal government. And if Ford won’t drop his opposition to Trudeau’s carbon tax — something he should do — he could propose, rather than oppose, how to develop some kind of national pharmacare plan.

The benefits of an improved relationship between Queen’s Park and Ottawa would work both ways. As leader of a minority government, Trudeau would be stronger if he can count on Ontario’s co-operation as opposed to its obstruction. Like Ford, Trudeau had good reasons to smile for the cameras last week and work for a more collaborative future with this premier.

Could it be that Canada is witnessing a maturation of its leaders? Sometimes politicians must set aside partisan games and rhetorical one-upmanship in favour of promoting the common good. Ford and Trudeau don’t need to be friends. They do, however, need to work together.