It’s a federal election campaign — so why are an Ontario premier, his main challenger and a

former premier up to their necks in it?

Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty got involved first by choice, saying he supports Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, which surprised some, because their family relationship had been stormy.

Martin in the last federal election did not want to be viewed as in the same party as McGuinty, because the premier had become unpopular for breaking promises to avoid increasing taxes and to balance the provincial budget.

McGuinty more recently argued that his federal cousins were cheating the province, because they collected from it $23 billion more a year in taxes than they returned in transfer payments and services.

Martin at first responded that Ontario was economically strong, then softened and agreed to cough up $5.7 billion more, but not all is yet in the province’s hands.

McGuinty since has complained that Martin’s government left natives in a Northern Ontario community in living conditions so deplorable the province had to evacuate them.

The premier has now said, in a year-end interview, that he wants a national commission of the federal, provincial and territorial governments to re-examine the whole financial relationship between them.

Asked whether he stands a better chance of help from Martin or federal Conservative leader Stephen Harper, McGuinty replied that he believes Martin “will deliver for us.”

McGuinty is taking risks, because he has piled another burden on Martin, who has made so many costly promises he may run short of funds. If Martin wins and fails to deliver, McGuinty could be seen as breaking another promise.

If Harper wins, he may not look hard for funds for McGuinty, because the premier helped an opponent This is on top of Harper saying in the campaign that he lacks respect for McGuinty, which would provide a shaky start for a relationship between a prime minister and leader of the biggest province.

Harper told reporters McGuinty is out of step with most premiers, because they “hate” Martin. Harper added McGuinty is untrustworthy and “I wouldn’t want him behind my back,” apparently referring to the premier’s vacillating between criticizing and praising Martin.

McGuinty responded that he gathers Harper’s real concern is that he endorsed Martin, but this support is justified, because Martin helped Ontario and there are good grounds for believing he will help more.

Provincial Progressive Conservative leader John Tory, who once co-chaired a disastrous federal election campaign for prime minister Kim Campbell, is both canvassing for Harper and feeling confident enough to offer him advice.

Tory said Harper is handicapped in Ontario because its voters “don’t know him and what he is about.” He said Harper has to spend more time in the province and focus on issues that matter most to its residents — particularly jobs, taxes and health care — and not be distracted by other issues such as same-sex marriage.

Tory said he hopes to spend a good deal of time campaigning with federal Conservative candidates.

Former Conservative premier Mike Harris, who retired from elected politics nearly four years ago, has been dragged into the campaign by federal Liberals, who feel they can extract votes from him. Harris is frowned on by most residents because of growing recognition that he weakened essential services to pay for tax cuts, although he retains a core of true believers.

Ontarians also have been reminded of Harris’s confrontational stances by recent testimony at a public inquiry that he was abusive and obscene in ordering natives ejected from a provincial park.

The federal Liberals have urged their candidates to claim Harris “cost Ontario dearly” and Harper would “damage Ontario like Harris did.”

McGuinty’s Liberals already seize every opportunity to remind us of Harris, hoping this will help sway voters to reject the Conservatives in the next provincial election in October 1977, and it almost seems that Harris is still in the legislature.

Harris’s image is seen as such a handicap that two levels of Liberals are now trying to wring votes from it.

Few premiers have left such an impression.