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       Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Quebec Premier Francois Legault, right, speak during a childcare funding announcement in Montreal on August 5, 2021.

       Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

       The big break for Justin Trudeau’s 2021 election campaign may have already happened – with the evidence on display just last week, as the Prime Minister stood next to Quebec Premier Fran？ois Legault.

       Mr. Trudeau was in Montreal to announce a federal-provincial deal to fund child care in Quebec. The deal itself was not a shocker: The feds have announced child-care deals with four other provinces and one territory. And Quebec could be expected to sign up. In this case, Ottawa was agreeing to give $6-billion over five years to Quebec, to pay for things that for the most part the province is already doing.

       But there was still something important going on. There was Quebec’s nationalist Premier, once a Parti Québécois cabinet minister, thanking the Liberal Prime Minister – a Trudeau, no less – for a new federal-provincial social program. And for doing federal-provincial relations right.

       “I want to say thank you,” Mr. Legault said as he touted the deal as the kind of “asymmetrical” agreement that works for Quebec. He asserted that it respects Quebec’s jurisdiction. He called it a “beautiful victory for Quebec families.”

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       Mr. Legault had reason to be generous with his words on a day when Mr. Trudeau was giving him a truckload of cash. Quebec spends $2.7-billion a year on child care, as Mr. Legault counts it, and offers spaces for $8.50 a day, so in one sense it has already met the goal of creating a $10-a-day system. For Quebec, the $6-billion was relatively easy money.

       Mr. Legault boasted that the funding is unconditional, which isn’t exactly true, since the province is promising to expand the number of child spaces. But the point is that the Quebec Premier was lauding the federal government for its flexibility, and for doing good for Quebeckers. Fran？ois and Justin stood side by side, calling each other by their first names.

       That relationship can matter a lot in the election campaign that is now expected to be launched in a matter of days. The Liberals won’t get a majority government without picking up seats in Quebec, and certainly, they can’t afford to lose any there.

       And Mr. Legault isn’t just any premier. He remains the most popular politician in Quebec, by far – and he can claim to speak for the province.

       In Quebec, Mr. Trudeau’s main election competitor will be Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Fran？ois Blanchet, whose campaign will attack the Liberals (and the Conservatives) for mistreating, neglecting or being out of touch with Quebec. That will be a lot harder if Mr. Legault seems pleased.

       It’s not just the child-care deal. The chummy tone at last Thursday’s news conference seemed to come from more than that. Mr. Trudeau has spent a good deal of effort making sure things are going smoothly with Mr. Legault.

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       On Friday, the two governments also announced an agreement on temporary workers. For months, the two have been meeting up to announce funding for industrial plants and rural internet and so on. Back in May, when Mr. Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government tabled language legislation affirming it was amending the Constitution to declare Quebec a nation, Mr. Trudeau shrugged and said the province could do that. Lots of people, including folks close to Mr. Legault, were staggered by the Prime Minister’s nonreaction.

       The political upside is clear, though: Mr. Trudeau is heading into an election campaign without a squabble with Mr. Legault.

       In the 2019 campaign, Mr. Blanchet had a few meaty Quebec-Ottawa irritants to work with, notably Mr. Trudeau’s disapproval of Mr. Legault’s Bill 21, which barred some public servants from wearing religious symbols. That wasn’t the whole reason the Bloc bounced back from near-death – the party gained mostly from the Tories and NDP – but the sovereigntist party tends to do better when Quebec and Ottawa are at odds.

       In 2019, Mr. Legault didn’t shy away from asking federal leaders for a variety of things for his province. Last Thursday, he demurred, at least for now.

       Instead, there is happy deal-making with Mr. Trudeau. What will Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole say if asked whether he would tear up that $6-billion agreement with Mr. Legault? Mr. Blanchet, for his part, will have a harder time complaining about Ottawa if Mr. Legault keeps smiling. Mr. Trudeau’s precampaign politicking with Quebec’s Premier might be the biggest move of his 2021 campaign.

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