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So most of the premiers, from whatever party, have taken a low-key approach to partisan activity during this federal campaign. Not Wynne, who has been visible on the Trudeau campaign and has even commented on the federal policies of the other parties. It’s one thing to make the province’s concerns clear to all leaders, whether it be on pensions or representation in the Senate. It’s another to outright bash the two men who stand the best chance of being the next prime minister.

“Thomas Mulcair doesn’t have a clear or workable plan,” Wynne tweeted recently. “His promises are unaffordable, misleading or impossible.”

It’s anyone’s guess whether Wynne’s public involvement in the federal campaign is a blessing or a curse for the federal Liberals. She is, like Justin Trudeau, charming and charismatic, great with a crowd. She is also not likely to help the Liberals distinguish themselves from the Conservatives on ethics, given that she is the leader of a party and government that has attracted an alarming number of OPP investigations, including into the actions of one of Wynne’s own aides in the Sudbury by-election.

But whatever the political consequences for the Liberals, the consequences for the people of Ontario are what should concern Wynne. She has said, over and over, that Ontario needs a federal partner. It does, but she doesn’t get to choose who that partner is, and the more she paints Mulcair and Harper as unwilling or incompetent, the more ground she must cross when it comes time to talk with one of them. And even if Trudeau does become prime minister, the gradual normalization of a premier on the federal campaign trail is bad for the country. The more premiers and prime ministers try to score points off each other, the worse off citizens will be. The federal-provincial relationship should be based on the needs of the people, not partisan revenge or quid pro quo.