You know you’re in Calgary during Stampede when one premier says of another, “I don’t want his pants to fall down.”

That was Premier Danielle Smith, who was exchanging belt buckles with Ontario’s Doug Ford. He took off his belt for this moving ceremony.

Braid: Want a pipeline with those pancakes? Doug Ford comes to Stampede Back to video

Ford’s pants stayed up.

Referring to the relatively friendly Calgary questions, Ford said, “This is like a church picnic compared to Toronto media.”

Ford’s approval rating is 21 per cent in Ontario. The economy has been brutally battered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies. Even more than Smith, Ford is all in for “nation-building” projects.

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So, we have Northern Shield, which sounds more like a superhero movie than a pipeline. It’s the second proposal since last Thursday, when Alberta and Ottawa formally launched a drive for a pipeline to southern B.C.

Northern Shield would take Alberta crude from Hardisty — southeast of Edmonton — to Regina, Winnipeg and then Sarnia, Ont., refineries, by a geographically challenged route that runs almost to the........

© Calgary Herald