PICKERING, Ont. - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he's ready to use a federal election campaign to push for a better financial deal with Ottawa.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is widely expected to call an election for Oct. 14, putting his minority Conservative government's record on the line.
McGuinty won't say if he'll let Ontario Liberals work on federal leader Stephane Dion's campaign, insisting that kind of decision has to wait until an election has actually been called.
After meeting with students at a Pickering high school today, McGuinty said he will ask each federal party leader how they would deal with Ontario's claims that it is not treated fairly by the federal government.
McGuinty has long complained that Ontario workers get less in employment insurance benefits than people in other provinces, and that Ontario gets far less in per capita health transfers than the rest of Canada.
However, he dismissed the idea of teaming up with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, who has also vowed to inject himself into the federal campaign because of his ongoing disputes with Harper.
