Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he had an “extremely productive meeting” with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Thursday. Ford emerged from the meeting saying, “We feel that the temperature has been lowered” in respect to an ugly, ongoing trade war. “We shared a tremendous amount of news back and forth. I’m feeling very positive,” Ford said. “This, I can honestly say, was the best meeting I’ve ever had coming down here.” Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman were also part of the meeting with Lutnick. Ford did not provide any further details of the meeting except that another one is planned for next week. “We want the best outcome for both countries,” said Ford. “We’re like a family. Sometimes there’s dissention between families, but that was an extremely productive meeting.” Ford’s office tells CityNews that the premier will not be at next week’s meeting, instead, it will be provincial bureaucrats representing Ontario. Thursday’s meeting helped to set priorities and objectives for further discussions. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to double steel and aluminum duties on Canada but backed down after Ford agreed to halt a surcharge on electricity that Ontario sells to three U.S. states. Canada responded to Trump’s steel and aluminum levies with 25 per cent tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods, which took effect just after midnight Thursday. Those duties focus on American steel and aluminum products but also include other items like smartphones, video game consoles and golf clubs.