Pierre Poilievre was back in his happy place. Mark Carney was back in the prime minister's seat. Between them lay 396 centimetres of green carpet and the future of the country.

"Why is it that all of this prime minister's promises of yesterday turn into today's disappointments?" the Conservative leader asked.

"We need to be clear about the scale of the crisis we are in," the prime minister responded.

For a brief moment, just before question period, the two leaders met in the middle. Both arriving to the House of Commons just before the appointed time for question period, they strayed from their assigned sides into the centre aisle, shook hands and greeted each other. The discussion appeared entirely civil.

What followed was their first parliamentary meeting — delayed several months by

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