Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's meeting with Hamilton's mayor included a side trip into council chambers for selfies and a surprise shower of pumpkin seeds from a scolding protestor.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger spoke in private with the prime minister for about 25 minutes on topics including U.S. Steel, affordable housing and transit funding.

Trudeau did not take reporter questions, but before starting the private meeting publicly emphasized the importance of "close working relationships" with cities on infrastructure funding.

Eisenberger said he is doing "cartwheels" over the improving relationship with the federal government. He also talked about transit as the city's top infrastructure priority - and even mentioned the city's provincially funded light rail transit project.

"I did mention that LRT is moving forward quickly and if we could get additional monies (for Mountain-bound express buses) that will fulfill all of our transit needs for the next ten years."

The city recently submitted an official request for federal transit cash worth $36 million, with a new bus barn and improvements to planned Mountain-climbing express bus routes high on the priority list.

After the meeting, Trudeau stepped through a side door into City Hall council chambers to chat with councillors, several of whom whipped out camera phones for the requisite Trudeau selfie photos.

Coun,. Lloyd Ferguson managed to get in a question about a program funding cap on cultural infrastructure grants, with an eye towards securing more cash for the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre.

"We have some work to do on that (program)," replied Trudeau.

A protestor later managed to get close enough to throw pumpkins seeds adorned with hand-drawn hearts at the PM in the city hall concourse, urging him to "keep your promises."

The woman, identified by a fellow protestor as former Green Party candidate Ute Schmid Jones, was detained by RCMP security personnel.

Protestor David Johnson, who said he was at City Hall supporting climate action group Hamilton 350, said he and Schmid Jones wanted to "urge the prime minister to keep his promises" on climate change and electoral reform.

Johnson, who had a banner that said "no more pipelines," said he didn't know the meaning behind the artistic pumpkins seeds tossed by Schmid Jones.

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