MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Canada’s 13 premiers are asking Ottawa to allow the country’s provinces and territories to opt-out of federal transfer programs, and to be compensated “fully” for that decision, should they make it.

The request was made following a one-day meeting of the Council of the Federation near Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, among a list of asks. The gathering, which had been billed as a discussion about national unity and division after the October federal election, focused in many ways on individual jurisdictions’ ability to maintain autonomy.

The list of priorities that each premier agreed to by early afternoon — which they plan to bring forward to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at their First Ministers’ meeting in early 2020 — includes ensuring that projects within provincial or territorial jurisdiction are exempt from federal environmental impact assessments, urging “robust investment” in infrastructure within the country’s three northern territories, and finding ways to strengthen Canada’s existing fiscal stabilization program.

“It’s outdated. It’s been around since the ’80s,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball told reporters of the stabilization payment system. Stabilization dollars are seen as a possible balm for economic downturn in the western prairies and N.L. alike — though the agreement to push for a better version of the system did not entirely satiate the likes of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who noted at the press conference after their meeting that his government would still be pushing for a restructure of the federal equalization payment system. (Equalization was an area with less consensus at Monday’s table.)

READ MORE: Legault has ‘no intention’ to discuss Bill 21 at premiers meeting; Kenney seeks out alliances to amplify messages

The various provincial and territorial teams came into the Dec. 2 meeting looking to unify their requests to Ottawa — a task that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe acknowledged that some may have previously cast doubt on their ability to do. “I think it’s fair to say that there’s been questions in the past around this table being able to focus in, and then actually agree on some of those priorities,” Moe said. Several premiers noted that they felt the group had been successful in that regard on Monday.

Among agreeable subjects identified was opposition to Ottawa’s Bill C-69 and the request for better stabilization payouts.

Kenney was specifically asking for the per-capita cap to be removed from the 1987 stabilization program, a member of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s team told reporters, and for retroactive payments back to the oil crash. But the final list of priorities was less definitive — with the final document from the group noting that changes to the stabilization program “could include, but are not limited to” removing the cap, lowering the non-resource revenue threshold or issuing retroactive payments over the last five years.

The group of premiers also collectively reiterated their call on Monday for the feds to increase the Canada Health Transfer by an annual escalator of 5.2 per cent, and made brief mention of the looming conversation around national pharmacare — urging only that such a program be developed in partnership with provinces and territories. (After the meeting, some of the leaders — such as Quebec’s François Legault and B.C.’s John Horgan — noted they already had pharmacare programs.)

Along with the joint health care funding request, the premiers collectively asked for changes around federal infrastructure funding — specifically, requesting that such funding is made to be “flexible,” respectful of provincial or territorial priorities, and accelerated. Legault had hoped to get one specific ask about infrastructure onto Monday’s agenda — a push on Ottawa to limit the criteria that they require in order for provinces and territories to receive federal money. Several jurisdictions, including Ontario, Nunavut and Alberta, were open to Legault’s pitched conversation, though one government source told iPolitics that changes to the infrastructure funding system would be complicated by all levels of government wanting to receive what they saw as appropriate public credit for infrastructure projects upon their completion.

And although the various provincial and territorial camps came into Monday’s meeting in Toronto with a slate of aligned priorities, some delegations were also prepared to somewhat push the envelope. Legault’s team intended to steer clear of discussing pipelines, due to warring perspectives, but Kenney’s camp hoped that the Quebec premier might be open to discussing natural gas pipelines, even if he didn’t want to talk specifically about oil pipelines.

Legault said after the meeting that the group had not discussed pipelines, despite a line in their joint statement identifying one key priority as being “continuing to develop resources in a responsible manner and ensure access to markets for Canada’s products.” Legault said his feelings were already known on the issue; Kenney then lauded the benefits of Canadian pipelines. Moe, afterwards, conceded that the matter was “one point where there is some discrepancies at the table here.”

The Quebec delegation were also banking on Bill 21 staying out of the conversation, despite Manitoba’s Brian Pallister launching ads last week in Quebec welcoming those impacted by the secularism bill to move to his province. Ford’s efforts to entirely avoid the subject at his Friday evening dinner with Legault were thwarted, with Legault broaching the subject briefly at the start of their chat after the Quebec National Assembly passed a motion urging him to do so.

READ MORE: Pallister, Legault spar over Bill 21 in advance of all-Premiers meeting

As the meeting began to wind down around 1 p.m., Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq’s team told iPolitics the issue of Bill 21 hadn’t yet been broached. Olivia Billson, a spokesperson for Pallister, told iPolitics the premier had no intention to do so.

The 13 premiers were each asked to clarify their positions on Bill 21 by a reporter after the meeting. Ford jumped in, insisting that their meeting had been intended to discuss areas of “common ground.”

“We respect the decisions that each province makes within their province,” Ford replied.

“Agreed,” Moe added, after a brief silence.

Some other potentially controversial issues were on the docket for Monday, including the carbon tax. Kenney mentioned Alberta’s ongoing pushback against the levy in a media availability after their meeting, but acknowledged there were differences of opinion amongst the leaders at the table. The day before the meeting, Ford, Higgs and Moe announced the signing of an MOU committing to develop small modular reactors, in order to potentially provide carbon-free energy.

“Climate policy is in the provincial jurisdiction,” Moe asserted to reporters, “for good reason. So that we can address it in exactly the way we were addressing it with a memorandum of agreement and ultimate investment yesterday.”