Ford praises Carney after late-night fireside chat at Muskoka cottage
2 Progressive Conservative premiers say they have full confidence in prime minister
It may not be the sunny ways government, but some premiers certainly seem to be feeling sunny about the future.
And that's despite troubled trade negotiations with the United States and the worsening effects of that country's tariffs on Canadian businesses.
Still, provincial premiers have nary seemed so cheerful about their own relationships to each other — and the federal government.
"First off, isn't it great? Like, these are such important relationships for Canadians and we're all kind of binding together and spending time together," said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston in response to a question about what has been achieved in the three meetings premiers have so far held together since Mark Carney became prime minister.
Premiers typically get together about once a year, and even more rarely with the prime minister present.
Houston was speaking in Huntsville, Ont., where Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been hosting this year's premiers' meeting, which Carney attended on Tuesday.
Both Houston and Ford — two conservative leaders — heaped praise on Carney in news conferences at the cottage country gathering.
Houston listed the passage of Bill C-5, Carney's internal trade and major projects legislation aimed at creating "one Canadian economy," as one of the accomplishments achieved thanks in part to better relations with and between Canadian first ministers.
But perhaps most notable was Ford's near soliloquy about the night Carney spent at his cottage.
Just as Ford was preparing to wrap up a news conference held with Quebec Premier François Legault, a reporter shouted a question about Carney's dinner invitation to Ford's Muskoka home on Monday.
"Full disclosure, the prime minister stayed up at my place," Ford said. "We had dinner, we were up 'til 12:30 at night, chattin' in front of the fireplace, solving all the world's problems."
Legault, seeming amused, leaned into the microphone to interrupt Ford: "A very nice, small chalet," he said.
"Yeah, yeah I have a little shack up — down the street, there," Ford said.
'The most humble person you'd ever want to meet'
Undeterred, he continued.
"The prime minister is the most humble person you'd ever want to meet," Ford said. The Ontario premier went on to list Carney's roles at Goldman Sachs, Brookfield, Bloomberg and as governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.
Ford said he'd never heard the prime minister name drop any of them, perhaps a surprising feat given how much Carney's resumé featured in the federal election.
"I'd hand the keys of a business over to the prime minister," Ford said. "He has his hands full because of the last 10 years of what has happened in our country…. He doesn't need to be doing this, I can assure you that. But he's given it everything he possibly can."
Legault could be heard chuckling as he followed Ford off the stage.
It's not the first time Ford and Houston showed Carney their support in direct or indirect ways.
During the federal election, Ford was critical of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's campaign. And less than a week before election day, on the eve of Poilievre's visit to Nova Scotia, Houston released a campaign-style video on social media, prompting some to wonder whether he was eyeing Poilievre's job.
The two Progressive Conservative premiers have sought to distinguish themselves from the federal Conservatives, but such transparent support for the Liberal leader is relatively new.
"I actually have tremendous confidence in the prime minister, and the team that is representing us as Canadians, to look at all of the factors and the moving parts, and come up to the best deal for Canadians," Houston said.
Ford has said he supports dollar-for-dollar tariffs, while Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have said the impact of tariffs on U.S. consumers should be enough to force President Donald Trump to change his approach.
What all the premiers do agree on is that they don't want to force a trade deal with the U.S. at all costs. If there is no deal that can benefit Canada, they want to focus on internal trade, "national interest projects" and diversifying trade with other countries.
"It's still government in many ways. But I will say that the urgency is felt and I'm personally, as a Canadian, incredibly optimistic about the future of this country," Houston said.
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With files from Kate McKenna