Canadian and American leaders meet to strengthen relationship
On Wed. March 9, 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Washington, D.C. for a ground-breaking three-day visit with American President Barack Obama. Trudeau was invited to a lavish state dinner at the White House—the first state dinner for a Canadian prime minister in nearly 20 years.
A friendship of elite proportion seemed to blossom between the two almost instantaneously. During his welcoming remarks, President Obama joked that the United States and Canada would never agree on everything; for example, whose beer is better or who is better at hockey.
Prime Minister Trudeau shook his head smiling, to which President Obama responded: “Where’s the Stanley cup right now? I’m sorry, is it in my hometown with the Chicago Blackhawks? In case you Canadians were wondering, where is it?”
Prime Minister Trudeau responded with composure.
“We know with certainty that there’s a high demand for Canadian goods down here,” chimed Prime Minister Trudeau. “A few that come to mind that President Obama just rightly recognized as being extraordinary contributors to the American success story is Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks.”
The visit was not all laughs, as President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau got down to business quickly.
During a joint press conference, the two leaders announced they had agreed to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 per cent what the levels were in 2012, by 2025. They both noted that there would be a change in the Canada-U.S. relationship that had been frosted over by the previous prime minister.
The highlight of the trip was the sumptuous state dinner on March 10, 2016. Poutine, Nanaimo bars, and Canadian whiskey were served in honour of the Canadian delegation. President Obama joked that, although he was trying to make the Trudeaus feel comfortable by adding poutine to the menu, he drew the line “at getting milk out of a bag.”
First ladies Michelle Obama and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau labelled each other as “soul mates” early on in the visit. They were relaxed and poised as they greeted each other with kisses upon arrival for the dinner.
The influential Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau kept up her tradition of wearing Canadian designed outfits, arguably putting Canada back on the fashion map.
This visit received huge social media attention in both Canada and the States, in what was referred to as “Justin fever.” American Twitter users proclaimed that the Canadian prime minister was “dreamy” and that he should become “executive of North America” if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump were to be elected.
When asked about Trump, Prime Minister Trudeau calmly said, “I look forward to working with whoever is elected.”