Stephen Harper and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford share fishing stories at BBQ love-in

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has received a rough ride lately over proposed service cuts, but one man is still singing his praises - Stephen Harper - over fishing tales and his worship's famous backyard barbecues.

"Rob is doing something very important that needs to be done here," Harper said about Ford Tuesday. "He's cleaning up the NDP mess here in Toronto."

The remark came while Harper attended a barbecue at the private residence of Ford's mother, Diane. It was an invite-only affair where hundreds of Conservative supporters gathered to honour Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who is the MP for Whitby-Oshawa.

"Thanks Jim for helping make Toronto and central Ontario Conservative Blue!" read an invitation to the event, the Toronto Sun reported.

While the event did focus on Flaherty, honouring him with a 'World Championship Finance Minister' belt, the love-in between Harper and Ford couldn't be ignored. A video of Ford introducing Harper at the event was briefly posted on YouTube, but was removed by Aug. 4.

During Ford's introduction, the two reminisced fondly about a recent fishing trip together.

"I'd like to introduce my new fishing partner, Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada," said Ford.

And Harper was just as jovial in reply. When Ford told the crowd he'd caught a smallmouth bass, Harper corroborated his story.

"I measured it, I can authenticate it, 39 centimetres," said Harper with a laugh.

Harper went on to thank Ford for all his work toward improving the Conservative profile in Toronto and the support the mayor put behind the federal Conservatives in the election.

"We started cleaning up the left-wing mess federally in this area, Rob's doing it municipally and now we've got to complete the hat-trick and do it provincially as well," Harper said, referencing the upcoming Ontario election.

Maybe Tim Hudak will earn himself an invite to the prime minister's next fishing adventure up north and a Rob Ford barbecue.

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