A decade ago, when the city of Toronto was locked in mortal combat with the reigning provincial Tories, a few jokesters used to talk bitterly of “separation.” As in forming a new country called “the Greater Toronto Area.”

The provocations, after all, were many: billions sucked out of Toronto to fund “essentials” north of the city, such as multi-lane highways to nowhere, while Toronto’s public housing system was massively downsized, shelters for battered women were shuttered and teachers were bullied. That era of corrosive conflict is gone, what with the rapprochement of the (mostly) like-minded Mayor David Miller at City Hall and Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty at Queen’s Park.

But these days, the go-it-alone trend looks like it’s gathering steam again. Except this time, it’s Ontario vs the federal government (which includes many of those former provincial Tories). McGuinty and Miller have complained loudly for years about the billions of dollars that Toronto and Ontario contribute to the national balance without, they say, a fair share coming back to fund provincial needs. The McGuinty government last fall pointed to an estimate by Toronto-Dominion Bank economists, which put the shortfall at $11.8 billion, more than half of the $20 billion that Ontario has redirected to the rest of Canada in recent years.

Despite such largesse, the feds seem to fade from view when they are most needed. Take Toronto’s once vaunted position as the global headquarters for mining finance. That disappeared in 2006, when short-sighted shareholders at mining giants Inco and Falconbridge inexplicably failed to agree on some sort of mutually beneficial merger, despite the visionary efforts of management. Now, due to federal failure to knock a few heads together in a timely fashion, Canada has fallen off the global mining finance map and billions of dollars in profits from world-class ore bodies in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador are flowing offshore.

Once again, Ontario needs help as it grapples with one of the worst economic crises in its history. Yet, despite the province’s new, have-not status, how much is it getting in equalization payments this year to help cushion ballooning unemployment and a struggling manufacturing sector? A princely $347 million. Given Ontario’s size and its diverse population, that seems a paltry sum.

Such indifference may be part of the reason Ontario appears to be striking out on its own when it comes to refilling the piggybank. In recent remarks given at Toronto-based law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (which, like several other large Toronto firms, is aggressively pursuing international clients), Ontario Minister of International Trade and Investment Sandra Pupatello rolled out a wide welcome mat for India-based businesses. She extolled Ontario as the leading place for business in North America — boasting low health care costs, well educated workers and an established Indian community. “We speak your language,” as she put it.

And when it came to patching up the wreckage known as the automobile sector (which supports 400,000 Canadian jobs) it was McGuinty, not a federal minister, who was most visible on the front lines, helping negotiate the deals with U.S. partners that salvaged at least something out of the mess for Canadian workers.

The urge to go it alone isn’t unique to Ontario. This page has recently seen columns from writers in other regions noting the deals being struck between their provinces and other countries (mostly recently, New Brunswick and Maine), regardless of what Ottawa might think of the matter.

This isn’t the traditional, often ideological restiveness that has always afflicted Canada’s regions. These days, it seems wholly pragmatic: the biggest reason provinces are taking independent steps to float their own boats is simply because it’s starting to seem like the surest road to long-term prosperity. IE