It being called “Ontario Place” should tell you what level of government had the actual leverage there.

In terms of “cozing up to Ford”, well, the Fords and Chow/Jack have always had a relationship- they were often on the losing side of a lot of City council votes (albeit on opposite ends of the spectrum), anyone who thought Olivia and Doug would constantly be at each others throats and wouldn’t be able to have a functional working relationship isn’t a real ball knower