Prime Minister Mark Carney greets Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as they arrive at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Ottawa on Jan. 27.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

The whole co-operation initiative was obviously a distasteful task to Pierre Poilievre, one that circumstances and strategists have foisted upon him. When he went to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday to talk about it, his opposite number appeared equally sincere.

This was a week when talk of co-operation seemed to be breaking out all over Ottawa. But the two main adversaries in federal politics were really playing cat and mouse.

Former prime minister and Conservative éminence grise Stephen Harper attended events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his rise to power and made a point of calling for a level of unity to preserve Canada in a moment of crisis. It was a good message. The follow-up wasn’t so impressive.

Conservative MP Jamil Jivani decided he could help the government with U.S. trade troubles by travelling to Washington to meet his old college buddy, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, though it seemed like neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives wanted him to.

Opinion: The overlooked story of Canada’s politics: The luck of the Liberals

And on........

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