Empire Ontario Wants Autonomy

The major causes of conflict between Ontario and the federal government became clear during the premiership of Sir Oliver Mowat which lasted an amazing twenty-four years from 1872 to 1896. His successors in office, regardless of party affiliation, continued to pursue similar goals up to the Second World War and after. Mowat recognized that the province occupied a unique place within the Canadian federation, owing to its size, its wealth, and its population. The poorer provinces might look upon federalism as a means of overcoming regional disparities, but Ontario politicians have always valued autonomy more than equality. The province wished to be left alone to develop its bountiful resources, provided that national policies guaranteed it access to markets in other parts of the country. Leaders from Mowat onward, therefore, set out to extend the sway of 'Empire Ontario' and in so doing to increase their own power and authority.

--Christopher Armstrong, introduction to The Politics of Federalism: Ontario's Relations with the Federal Government, 1867-1942, Ontario Historical Studies (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981), 4.