After a five-month hiatus, Queen's Park was back in session Monday and while Doug Ford's government had a much calmer tone during Question Period, its stance on teacher negotiations and the carbon tax remained.
Instead of going on the attack with the opposition as he's done before such as trading barbs and sometimes personal jabs, the premier focused more on his government's actions during the lengthy break when asked questions on policy.
"I want to welcome the leader of the opposition back in the House here," Doug Ford said in his first answer from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, regarding the possibility of tens of thousands of fewer teachers over the next four years.
The tone continued with Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who has taken a prominent role in the cabinet since taking over the portfolio in the government's June cabinet shuffle.
"Just express, if I may on behalf of family, just the great humility it is to rise in this House as the minister of education," he said.
There was still one standing ovation, and instead of the seemingly mandated ones of the past for the premier when he'd make a partisan point, it happened later on in Question Period while discussing the province as a unifier in a divided country.
"We need to unite this country because what is good for Canada is good for Ontario and what is good for Ontario, is good for Canada," he said to his caucus' applause.
Government House Leader Paul Calandra told reporters the new tone would be here to stay.
"I think there is an effort on both sides to live up to what Ontarians and broadly what Canadians asked us to do, work together a bit better," he said. "I think you saw the tone on both sides of the House was different."
"There are going to be days when there will be very fierce, passionate debate," he said. "But I think ultimately the tone that you saw today is the balance that we'd like to strike in the House and I get the same sense from the opposition that they're on the same page."
Horwath said time will tell.
"They can put on a happy face here in the Leg, they can calm their behaviour at Question Period, but is that going to make any hill of beans of different with kids who need supports in classrooms that are being cut?" she said.
TEACHER TALKS
On policy, the looming possible strike with teachers was front and centre, as union members and labour groups protested around Queen's Park throughout the morning and afternoon.
During Question Period, Ford went over his government's spending on education, the removal of cell phones from classrooms and attempting to increase students math scores, while Lecce took questions from reporters.
"You need to be bargaining with a party that actually wants a deal," he said, when asked if he's still optimistic an agreement can be reached.
Last week, Lecce and Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation President Harvey Bischof traded words in the media, as the government offered to scale back its proposed class size changes.
Instead of increasing to a 28:1 student to teacher ratio over its four-year term, the government offered 25:1.
Lecce said when they did, the union simply ramped up strike action.
"So I think the contrast could not be more clear about them vis-a-vis, the government," he said.
But Bischof countered by saying the PCs were only talking about one side of the proposal, arguing they're still opting for bigger class sizes.
"That all class size cap language would be eliminated from every collective agreement in the province, so the guide rails that maintain quality education enviroments for our students would be removed is his proposal, there's no upside to this," he said on Thursday.
Despite the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario strike vote results coming later this week, Lecce said he's still optimistic.
"At the end of the day, I still retain a sense of hope," Lecce said.
CARBON TAX CHALLENGE
Many political observers have said the reason the federal Conservatives performed so poorly in Toronto and the GTA was not having a more thorough climate plan, while also serving as a rebuke to the Ford Government's ongoing court challenge against the Liberal carbon tax.
Ford reinforced his government's campaign promise to challenge the price, while even mentioning the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change targets.
"We're going to hit the Paris Accord target," he said. "We're already at 22.5 per cent (2030 goal of 30 per cent GHG reductions) with 10 years to go, we're leading the country in emissions reductions."
"We have a great plan, but that plan does not include taxing the people of Ontario."
Energy Minister Greg Rickford declined to acknowledge if federal Ontario voters sent a message on the climate.
"I'm not here today to defend the record of any of the previous political parties in the run-up to the election last week, we're here to govern for the province of Ontario," he said.
The government has also referred to it as the "job-killing" carbon tax, despite the fact that job growth has been on the rise.
Statistics Canada reported this month the economy added almost 54,000 jobs in September, following 81,100 the month before, adding over 358,000 overall since December.
Of the September job numbers, most were in Ontario and Rickford was asked how the government can continue calling the tax "job-killing" when the labour market has been increasing.
"We're out to defend and explain to consumer where their costs are coming from and frankly, and as somebody who lives in the far northwest of this province, we already have structural costs that are high for every day living," he said. "We're going to continue to let people know where those costs are coming from."
The PCs lost their latest challenge in the Ontario Court of Appeal in June, followed by Ford appearing to open the door to it being dropped when he said voters would have the ultimate say during the election.
But with $30 million budgeted to fight through the courts and an advertising campaign - including government-mandated stickers at gas stations which will continue - the fight persists.
"It's a waste of money, it's a waste of time, it's a waste of resources," Horwath said. "It's shameful that he's not living up to the expectation that he set himself prior to the results of the federal election."