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BY SEAN SPEER

The swearing-in of Doug Ford as Ontario’s new premier has led to plenty of commentary and speculation about the implications for federal-provincial relations in general and the personal relationship with the Prime Minister in particular.

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That the two men are different is self-evident: they have different politics, backgrounds, and hair. Justin Trudeau is from Mars and Doug Ford is from Venus, to borrow from a classic relationship guide.

Competing ideas on carbon taxes and the financing of refugee resettlement are just the two highest profile manifestations of these different perspectives.

But their differences don’t necessarily mean there must be intergovernmental acrimony. There’s already some common ground – including a shared focus on the importance of NAFTA and possible room for collaboration on business tax competitiveness to keep up with the Americans – and there’s the potential for much more.