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Cue Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who this past week launched a social media and gas pump sticker campaign to fight Trudeau and the carbon tax. Ford’s campaign will be effective, and he could win the communications battle. But if it allows Trudeau to start talking about climate change and issues that Liberals can use to convince the left wing to support them in the general federal election, then Trudeau could win the war.

While the Ford budget tabled last week didn’t provide the slash and burn many expected there is still enough uncertainty and conflict with the teachers’ unions and other social issues that Trudeau can use Ford to try and convince Ontarians they need a counter-measure in Ottawa at the helm.

If Albertans elect Jason Kenney, then Trudeau will have an even bigger platform to run on in the rest of Canada about the need for a progressive prime minister to counter a conservative tide at the provincial level.

In the past, notable prime ministers and premiers have used their partisan fights to increase their own popularity at the ballot box. Former Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris fought with then Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien. They both managed to win re-election.

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Alberta Premier Ralph Klein used the same strategy to scrap with Chretien by being critical of him on several issues including his decision to keep Canada out of the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2001.

“Of course, we had different views and some problems, naturally, because he was representing Alberta and I was representing the whole county,” Jean Chretien said in an interview with the Calgary Herald when Klein passed away. “You cannot expect a premier and a prime minister to agree all the time. It’s not the nature of the business,” said Chretien.