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Not that there would be all that much for them to see.

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On Thursday, while Mr. Ford was meeting with Snow, a Toronto rapper known for the 90s anti-snitching anthem “Informer,” Mr. Kelly was eating Chinese food with Peter Leon and James Maloney, two members of city council. After lunch, when news broke that an actor playing Mr. Ford would die via flying shark in the TV movie Sharknado 2, Mr. Kelly was in a meeting with executives from the Yellow Pages Group.

It was all in all not an atypical day for Mr. Kelly, a career politician thrust into the late life spotlight by the antics of his one-time ally Mr. Ford.

“A lot of people, when the mayor was away, said this place was back to being boring again,” Mr. Kelly said. “To me that was a compliment.”

His day Thursday began early, with a pickup from his home on a leafy suburban street in Scarborough. Most days, Mr. Kelly’s wife, who also works downtown, drives him into the office, said Mr. Kelly’s spokesman Isaac Ransom. But with an early appointment across the city at the airport, that wasn’t on the cards Thursday.

At the airport, Mr. Kelly listened to a brief presentation on the size, scale and economic impact of the facility. He presented executives from the airports authority with a framed scroll. He shared with some enthusiasm his admiration for a painting of an old air terminal.

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Mr. Kelly describes himself as being on the centre right. His two favourite prime ministers are John A. Macdonald and McKenzie King. But his personal political brand is heavily folksy. He is a glad hander, in the literal sense. He pats knees. He grabs shoulders. When the occasion calls for it, he even hugs. But more than anything, he shakes hands. “That’s a good handshake you’ve got there. Are you running for public office?” he asked one airport employee. Later, when handing out ceremonial scrolls to the organizers of World Pride, he noted: “These are some really good handshakes.”