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As the rest of Canada watches the slow-motion Götterdämmerung of the Ontario election, their cringes are occasionally offset by a single, comforting thought: It may be not be an entirely bad thing if the Heartland Province destroys itself.

Whichever party wins, Ontario seems to be on track for more debt, more uncertainty and no end in sight for its staggeringly high electricity prices. With Ontario businesses regularly threatening to leave, isn’t it good for the likes of Vancouver and Calgary if capital and brains start streaming westwards?

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The National Post called up some very patient economists to ask: Should non-Ontarians all be secretly hoping that the true victor of the June 7 election is chaos and turmoil?

Ontario buys an awful lot of stuff from Western Canada

Despite what the populist du jour might be telling you lately, trade generally makes everything better for everybody. When someone buys a hot dog from a hot dog cart, both parties walk away satisfied with the transaction. Similarly, the hot dog enthusiast would feel sad if they arrived at the hot dog cart one day only to discover that it’s been turned into a smoking crater by years of poor leadership. Western Canada makes a whole lot of its money from Ontarians. In 2014 alone, Ontario bought $27 billion worth of stuff from Alberta, its largest non-Quebec trading partner. Meanwhile, Alberta bought $34 billion worth of stuff from Ontario. Add on Saskatchewan and B.C., and Ontario bought another $18 billion in goods from the West. Naturally, it would be quite bad for everyone if all this commerce suddenly disappeared.