Doug Ford Handed Out Leafs Jerseys During His First Premier Meeting Since The Election

Provincial and territorial leaders have assembled on Doug Ford's turf this Monday with the intention of creating a new policy agenda they hope will be accepted by the new minority Liberal government in Ottawa. According to City News, several of the premiers have already met up privately with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since he was re-elected back in October. However, the Toronto meeting does mark the first time all the premiers will meet as a group since the results of the federal election were first announced.

The Council of the Federation, which now consists almost entirely of Conservative premiers, is currently meeting at Ford’s suggestion in a hotel eerily close to his old Etobicoke North riding.

In a slightly bizarre move, Ford kicked off his meeting with the Premiers and Territorial leaders by handing out a bunch of Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys.

It’s unclear at the moment what exactly his motivations were behind the gesture, perhaps it’s his way of welcoming the leaders into the province, or maybe he’s just bragging about how Toronto is doing now that Sheldon Keefe is head coach.

However, judging by Ford’s recent comments about the meeting, it’s likely the reasoning leans more towards the whole unity of Canada. 

"With a group of premiers — all 13 are showing up — we're going to have disagreements, but I think that's healthy, to be very frank," Ford told CBC.

"We have to listen to the people out West and listen to their concerns. A lot of people are struggling out West. I mentioned that to the prime minister as well, and he agrees. He wants to support everyone right across this country, and I'm going to support the prime minister by making sure we get as much support as possible."

"We want to send the message around the world that we're a united Canada. We're stronger together, and we'll get over these bumps," Ford said, referencing disagreements between Western Canada and Ottawa,” he added.

Ford, who now appears to be working rather amicably with Trudeau, was notably absent during the Federal election.

The premier didn’t campaign for the conservative leader Andrew Scheer, explaining that he was “too busy” dealing with Ontario’s problems to stump for the candidate.

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