Doug Ford says he 'smashed a dozen cannolis' with political rival

It's no secret that Ontario Premier Doug Ford loves a good snack, having eaten everything from a chocolate bunny to cherry cheesecake and even a live bee on camera in recent years. 

Ford's latest food reference came at a Wednesday press conference, when the premier spoke about sharing a snack with Steven Del Duca, former leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and current Mayor of Vaughan. 

Ford and Del Duca famously faced off in the 2022 Ontario general election. Ford reclaimed his title as premier, winning 83 seats for the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, while Del Deca won 8 seats for the Liberals and even lost in his home district of Vaughan—Woodbridge. 

While the two politicians have not seen eye-to-eye in the past, the premier revealed that they did share one thing in common — their weakness for cannoli. 

"I also wanna acknowledge my good pal, Mayor Del Duca. What did we have 22 mayors at the house one time in the summer? And I called him out, I don't know if I embarrassed him, but I said, 'I wish every mayor was like Mayor Del Duca,'" Ford said. 

In an era of hyper partisanship (which I’ve never been a fan of), here is Premier @fordnation talking about hanging out with former Ontario Liberal leader @StevenDelDuca at his house…

…and how they “smash a dozen cannolis back real quick” while sitting in his solarium. 😀 pic.twitter.com/Xc3O8T6o7G

— Saad Baig (@saadbaig3) April 4, 2024

"He gets things done, he understands the system, and when he comes over to the house we sit outside in the solarium, but you should see how we smash a dozen cannolis back real quick," the premier said (the plural of cannoli is actually cannoli), as reporters at press conference broke out in laughter. 

"I'll tell you, between him and I. They're great, cannolis from Vaughan, he always brings a box of cannolis. I bring the Tim Hortons Timbits," Ford chuckled. 

The premier visited York University on Wednesday to announce the provincial government's initial investment of $9 million through the 2024 budget to begin the design and planning for the university's new medical school, which will be the first in Canada to focus on training primary care doctors. 

The new medical school will include up to 80 undergraduate seats and up to 102 postgraduate seats starting in September 2028.