US President Barack Obama welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “quite good-looking Canadian delegation” to the White House on Thursday for a pomp-filled visit designed to rejuvenate US-Canada ties.
Obama laid out a full military band and ceremonial guard on the South Lawn, making the recently elected prime minister the first Canadian leader in 20 years to receive an official-level visit.
POLITICAL KIN
After talks in the Oval Office and a Rose Garden media conference, Obama hosted a state dinner, with guests that including Mike Myers, Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox and Blake Lively.
The 54-year-old Obama has saluted Trudeau, 44, as political and generational kin, an ideological colleague who shares a belief in the importance of issues like healthcare, gay rights and climate change.
APPRECIATION
“He campaigned on a message of hope and of change,” Obama said, echoing his own 2008 campaign message. “From my perspective, what’s not to like?”
“Justin’s talent and concern for the Canadian people, and his appreciation of the vital role that Canada can play in the larger world is self-apparent,” he said.
Obama’s effusive praise was met with an invitation to visit Ottawa later this summer and address the Canadian Parliament.
“That’s a great honor,” Obama said. “I look forward to the opportunity to speak directly to the Canadian people about the extraordinary future that we can build together.”
EXPORTS
Trudeau also reciprocated Obama’s compliments, describing him as a “man of both tremendous heart and tremendous intellect.”
There was also some jovial ribbing, with Obama joking about national rivalries over whose beer is best and Canada’s national obsession, ice hockey.
“Where’s the Stanley Cup right now?” Obama said. “I’m sorry, is it in my hometown with the Chicago Blackhawks?”
Trudeau hit back that the team’s trio of superstars — Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith — were among Canada’s greatest exports.
TARGETS
Early on Thursday, the White House announced that Canada had agreed to match an existing US target of reducing methane emissions by between 40 and 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025 from the oil and gas sector.
The two countries also agreed on measures to better manage the Arctic wilderness, creating low-impact shipping corridors and managing fish stocks.
The warmth of the encounter triggered a flood of online jokes and tongue-in-cheek reports on a budding “bromance” between the leaders, as photographs went viral showing them smiling like old friends.
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