Take Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty, for example. --Harper is a Conservative and an Albertan (albeit with Ontario roots), and at a fundraising dinner last year he introduced John Tory, McGuinty's chief opponent, as "the next premier of Ontario."

McGuinty is a Liberal and an Ontarian, and he has a brother (David) who sits prominently on the opposition benches in Ottawa.

Yet it was all smiles and handshakes as the two men shared a stage yesterday in Downsview for the formal announcement of $1.5 billion in federal funding to support the development of public transit and eco-friendly electricity in Ontario.

McGuinty was effusive in his praise for the deal, which he called "a major step forward for Ontario."

Naysayers will point out that the money falls well short of eliminating McGuinty's oft-cited "$23 billion gap" between what Ottawa raises in taxes in Ontario and what it spends here.

But the premier can legitimately claim that his noisy campaign for fairness for the province – an approach that drew criticism from the provincial Conservatives for being too confrontational – has paid off in megabucks (with more expected to come in the March 19 federal budget). Source...