Development companies led new lobbying activity at Queen’s Park this week, while nuclear, electricity and manufacturing players pressed the Ford government on everything from its long-term energy strategy to Buy Ontario policies and investment incentives.

The province, Fedeli said, is willing to discuss whether the company needs different assistance, including potentially addressing training or other specific barriers to bringing production back to the plant.

“The mayor and I have a phenomenal relationship,” Ford said. “We’ve given the City of Toronto more money than they’ve ever seen in their lives — over $9 billion.”

Asked Wednesday whether the province should be involved in selecting a future operator for Pearson, Ford said Queen’s Park wants a seat at the table. Ford’s call for provincial (and municipal) involvement adds another question to Ottawa’s still-developing plan: how much influence the governments that host the country’s largest airport will have over the selection of its future operator?

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon defends Ottawa's push to attract billions of dollars into AI and data centres as the public raises questions about everything from electricity and water consumption to privacy, jobs and pace of development.