Canadian towns and cities have always been governed by one simple reality: what the premier wants, the premier gets.

Provinces have exclusive authority over municipalities. That has been the case since the boys in Charlottetown in 1864 jotted down the charter that would eventually govern this new confederation called Canada.

Mayors have been muttering ever since.

In more recent years, some premiers have become quite intrigued by tinkering with their local governments. One example: Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Mr Ford was elected to Toronto City Council the same year his brother, Rob, began his tumultuous term as Mayor. Rob Ford's term was unlike any other in the history of—well, certainly Canada, perhaps more globally.

Rob Ford died of cancer. Doug ran to replace him as mayor and lost. Four years later Doug became leader of the Ontario Conservative party and was elected Premier in the 2018 general election. He has since been re-elected twice to majority governments. Impressive.

What has fascinated observers is his unusual puttering with municipalities, particularly Toronto City Council. For example, even though the city's 2018 municipal election was underway, Premier Ford slashed the number of wards in half. The entire election had to be reconfigured, people running for council had to find a new, larger ward, and the Clerk's office did a remarkable job in carrying out the election.

The premier has continued to have a hands-on approach dealing with Toronto and other municipalities: Disrupting regional governments. Granting 'strong mayor' powers to a few cities and then more broadly, a decision that has been met with decidedly mixed reviews. New legislation to make Police Service boards follow provincial dictates on certain matters.

Speaking of Police boards…the BC government imposed a Police Services board on Surrey a few years ago. (The complete history would take a small book to explain…RCMP, lawsuits, the current chief just got defenestrated, the board chair just resigned, the mayor is fighting with the province…)

Other premiers have also been influential in their oversight of municipalities. And sometimes local governments need a kick in the pants, because sometimes small issues become thorny, and big issues such as amalgamation and regional planning get smothered in local politics.

One consistent complaint that cities have had is arbitrary changes to provincial-municipal cost sharing programs. These often occur at the last minute, and rarely in favor of municipalities.

However, there are examples of positive change happening. The housing crisis meant the federal and provincial governments realized that without municipalities new construction wouldn't happen. That led to badly needed grants for infrastructure.

Which leads us back to the concept of Premiers as partners. Canadian towns and cities deserve a mature, professional relationship with provincial governments. That means premiers must deal with their local governments in a mature, professional manner.