I didn't know Jagmeet Singh very well when we sat together in the Ontario Legislature but it is quite apparent that he is a thoughtful and talented politician who will add much to the federal NDP leadership race. It's hard, however, not to feel a little sorry for anyone wanting to leave the relative straightforwardness of Queen's Park for the turmoil of Ottawa.As Jagmeet is about to discover – life on Parliament Hill is a heck of a lot more difficult.I say this as someone who made the trek in the other direction, having worked for a series of federal cabinet ministers and ultimately prime minister Jean Chrétien prior to getting elected as MPP. And although I didn't find Queen's Park life all sunshine and lollipops – it was a lot easier.Why?Ontario may be big but Canada is bigger.This is not as inane a statement as it seems. If you want to represent people, you have to meet them. As a provincial politician a big week for me might involve a two hour drive to Peterborough on a Wednesday as well as a flight to Timmins on a Thursday timed so that I could still have dinner with my family Friday.Jagmeet should hold on to his hat. He is about to discover the joys of national travel and the hours and hours he will spend on planes and automobiles. He will learn about time zones, flight delays and the fact that it is difficult to go East from Winnipeg after 9:30 at night. Dinner at home will become a thing of the past.Ontario does not include Quebec.They tell me that Ottawa's obsession with Quebec has toned down. I can't believe, however, that any federal politician, particularly one who wants to lead a caucus with 16 Quebec MPs, does not still need to understand Canada's own "mystery wrapped in an enigma," to paraphrase Churchill.Yes, Jagmeet speaks French, which is admired at Queen's Park – no matter how rudimentary. But he better be prepared. His language skills are about to be put under the microscope by Quebec journalists who usually display Simon Cowell-like sympathy when it comes to assessing a politician's claim of bilingualism.But Quebec is a lot more than about speaking French. Our political battlefields are covered with the many who unsuccessfully tried to navigate its complicated culture, history and worldview. And a quick hint, Jagmeet's recent claim that he understands Quebec because of his parent's experience as Punjabi speakers in India, probably won't cut it.Is Quebec a nation? And if so, what does that mean and who is part of this nation? By the way, what did Jagmeet think of Andrew Potter's column in Maclean's on Quebec – should he have kept his job?And it's not just Quebec. Canada is all about regional tensions and peculiarities.What percentage of Saskatchewan's economy is based on resources and how would a carbon tax affect its agricultural sector? And how exactly do the fisheries work anyway? Seriously, how is it regulated by the federal government?Not the type of issues you encounter at Queen's Park.And then there are pipelines. Jagmeet has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being weak on climate change. So is he going to side with the B.C. wing of his party and oppose them, or side with the Alberta NDP and be in favour of it?What Jagmeet is about to discover is Ottawa's dirty little secret. Trying to run a province may be difficult, but running a country such as Canada is basically impossible. The miracle of our nation is that we have prospered for 150 years despite the fact we are essentially ungovernable.It's hard to make policies in that situation.Speaking of which, Jagmeet needs some real quick.I understand why Jagmeet is taking his time. But the Ottawa media already seems tired of his habit of answering every policy question by referring to a soon to be released platform; particularly, when he seems to hint that his policies will somehow startlingly bridge the many divisions within the NDP.Ain't going to happen.And Parliament Hill is more than domestic issues. Although we like to play international men and women of mystery at Queen's Park, who's fooling who? You can do very well in the Legislature knowing nothing about foreign matters. Not so on the national stage where the learning curve will be steep. Does Jagmeet now regret his support for the BDS movement when it comes to Israel? Is it worth playing the long game with Trump and toning down the rhetoric?Don't get me wrong. These are exciting times for Jagmeet and I wish him well. I suspect, however, that there may be more than the odd morning when he wakes up and longs to deal with relatively simple things - like health care and education.John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister currently serving as the co-director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program.  John can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @John_Milloy. This column was originally published in the online publication QP Briefing.