Ontario Premier Doug Ford met with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe as he arrived in Ottawa Monday ahead of a premiers' meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"I had the pleasure of meeting with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to talk about how we can work together for the people of Ottawa," Ford said in a tweet, showing pictures of him shaking hands with Sutcliffe, handing him an Ontario-branded paper bag, and sitting across from Sutcliffe at a table.
"Whether it’s supporting the region’s tech sector or building a new hospital and homes for a growing city, we agreed — let’s get it done," Ford said.
"I’m looking forward to working with you and your government to build more homes and grow Ottawa’s economy," Sutcliffe later said in his own tweet.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office said Sutcliffe and Ford met for about an hour Monday.
"Mayor Sutcliffe and Premier Ford met for approximately one hour and mainly discussed increasing the supply of homes in Ottawa as well as economic development," Liam Harrington said. "The gift from the premier was a wooden bowl."
The premier's office did not respond to a request for comment about the meeting.
This is the first time Sutcliffe has met with Ford since being elected mayor of Ottawa. He was supposed to have a meeting with the premier at Queen's Park last November, about a month after the election, but the premier had to cancel it at the last minute. Sutcliffe met with several cabinet ministers instead.
Ford is in town to meet with other premiers and the prime minister Tuesday as they discuss federal health-care transfers, which is expected to include an offer of billions of dollars in new spending. It remains unclear, however, if any deal will be signed at the meeting.
