Biden receives Maritime-made Peace by Chocolate bar during visit to Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden was given a Maritime-made sweet treat during his visit to Ottawa on Friday.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May gifted Biden a Peace by Chocolate bar during a round of handshakes with Canadian politicians.
Based in Antigonish, N.S., Peace by Chocolate was founded by the Hadhad family, who fled their home in war-torn Damascus in 2012.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held on to the chocolate bar while Biden participated in a book signing during a welcoming ceremony on Parliament Hill.
“Don’t let the prime minister keep your chocolate,” someone could be heard saying after the signing.
“Yeah,” Biden replied. “Where’s my chocolate?”
Once back in the president’s hands, Trudeau explained the Hadad family’s story.
“Well, depending on how tough the questions are, you can share this chocolate with me,” Biden joked to reporters before leaving the room.
Peace by Chocolate CEO and founder Tareq Hadhad said he was honoured and proud to witness the “historical moment.”
In a tweet Saturday morning, Hadhad said he thanked May for the gesture, adding it was “a moment our family will never, ever forget."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Survey shows employees aren’t disconnecting from work on vacation
Although remote work has cleared the way for workplace flexibility, allowing employees to work in various locations (and climates), a new study suggests it’s taking a serious toll on work-life balance.

'Canadian friends, reinforcements are coming': France sending 100 firefighters to Quebec, Macron announces
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Increase in mosquitoes 'a trend' across Canada this year. Here's why
Mosquitoes have always been pesky, but this spring it seems the bloodsuckers are thirstier than ever, a trend one expert says is increasing.
Nova Scotians’ personal information stolen in global security breach: province
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Adult victim in Que. fishing incident that killed 4 children identified
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Uncertainty remains for Halifax-area evacuees as wildfire 100 per cent contained
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Canada sticking with 2050 net zero targets, but progress may come faster than expected, minister says
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Apple is expected to unveil a sleek, pricey headset. Is it the device VR has been looking for?
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Ukrainian father rushes home after Russian airstrike to find 2-year-old daughter dead in rubble
A Ukrainian man rushed to his home outside the central city of Dnipro in hopes of rescuing his family, only to find his two-year-old daughter dead and wife seriously wounded as he helped pull them from the rubble of their apartment destroyed in one of Russia's latest airstrikes of the war, authorities reported Sunday.