“...somewhat surprised the Premier of Ontario is siding with his western counterparts...”
That’s because unlike the lesbian feminist SJW darling Kathleen Wynne that Drug Ford replaced, he, at least understands that without all that Alberta natural gas, Ontario’s cities can pretty much enjoy freezing their asses off throughout the winter.
Likewise, contrary to how it is often portrayed, the vast majority of Ontario (at least by land-mass) tends to have conservative viewpoints, and votes accordingly. It’s only in the urban areas, where the politics tend to skew Liberal and/or NDP. (well that, and a couple of the ridings up north, where the mining unions are big).
Unfortunately, rural Ontario pretty much gets dragged along for the ride, whether we like it or not, by whoever the cities vote for. :(
Just like California