What tone will Doug Ford strike as the new spokesman for Canada’s premiers?

 Listening to Doug Ford and his fellow premiers shedding a few tears in Halifax this week, you’d think the world — and the country — were coming to an end.

With predictable passion, they rattled off a list of perennial perils:

Federal interventionism is high. American protectionism is nigh. Asylum-seekers are on the rise. Equalization is inequitable.

Feasting on seafood, washed down with sour grapes while sharing a few private laughs, the premiers used their annual conference to toast one another for prudent stewardship of their own provinces. While raising the alarm about everyone else:

With a Donald Trump presidency looming, Canadians face renewed risk. With Justin Trudeau’s prime ministerial reign lagging, Canadians face prolonged risk.

Climate change is in the air, but most of the premiers called for the federal carbon levy to be buried. Federal meddling in provincial jurisdiction is intolerable, yet the premiers cheerfully waded into Ottawa’s bailiwick by demanding more defence spending and cuts to interest rates (by the independent Bank of Canada).

Ottawa-bashing (and hectoring) is apparently part of every premier’s job description. But what if it’s your turn to serve as leader of the pack — not merely as one premier among 13, but the one who represents them all?

https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/what-tone-will-doug-ford-strike-as-the-new-spokesman-for-canadas-premiers/article_e8d3fc66-4478-11ef-881b-e3b72262d247.html