Federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice cancelled a scheduled meeting Tuesday night with his provincial counterpart, reportedly upset by Ontario's vocal demands regarding the financial costs incurred in the Caledonia land dispute. 

Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay had planned to ask for at least $25 million, what the provincial government said was a "fair share" of the costs incurred since aboriginal protesters began occupying the former housing development site on Feb. 28.

The figure did not include policing costs, Premier Dalton McGuinty said, a cost Ramsay was also expected to talk to the federal government about.

McGuinty added the dispute wouldn't end until the federal government "steps up to the plate."

"We’re asking ourselves, 'How long are we going to have a police presence there, how long will we have to continue to incur additional costs?'" said McGuinty.

"If you check the Constitution, it’ll make it perfectly clear that when it comes to these land claims issues, that is solely the responsibility of the federal government."

The public exhortations, however, rankled the federal minister.

"The recent persistent stories quoting both the premier and the minister created an atmosphere of political grandstanding that disturbed Mr. Prentice," said Prentice's spokeswoman, Deirdra McCracken.

"Mr. Prentice decided it would be better to cancel [Tuesday's] meeting and reschedule it when there is an atmosphere more conducive to constructive discussions that will lead to progress in resolving the dispute."

Ramsay had already left from Toronto for the Ottawa meeting before finding out it had been cancelled.

"I am disappointed that Minister Prentice chose not to attend … ," Ramsay said in a statement. "This is another example of the federal government failing to live up to its obligations to the people of Ontario."

In his first appearance as the Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Monday, Julian Fantino told reporters that the drain on the force's resources caused by the Caledonia dispute cannot continue.

OPP officers have been on site since the natives began the protest in February, claiming the construction site was part of land wrongly taken from them.

With files from the Canadian Press