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It wasn’t an act, not for either man, that’s the big takeaway from the meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Friday.

Considering how the election campaign went, or the time since Ford was elected premier in June 2018, you would be forgiven for thinking the meeting would be nothing but combative. Both men have revelled in taking shots at each other at various times — but while Ford changed his tune in the summer, Trudeau hammered Ford every day during the election campaign.

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Trudeau made Ford sound like the end of civilization, yet there they were Friday with Ford jokingly asking Trudeau if he knew any good French teachers and Trudeau responding he used to be one but doesn’t have time these days.

I had noted Ford’s change of tone in the summer and wrote about it back on Aug. 8. Until that point, Ford had been giving as good as he got with Trudeau, after that point he called on the PM to work with him on infrastructure projects important to Ontario without going negative.