In the same way he took office in October, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swept into Washington with his wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, on March 11 and dazzled everyone.
“Bromance,” a delighted White House press corp cheekily declared of Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama as Twitter filled up with images of the two leaders palling around together.
As expected, the state dinner was a glittering affair. The White House’s Grand Foyer and Cross Hall was lined with rows of orchids, hydrangeas and amaranth meant to represent the rivers and tributaries flowing between Canada and the U.S.
Dinner itself included a first course of Alaskan halibut “casseroles” with asparagus, chanterelles, baby onions, lardon and melted butter; and a main course of baby lamb chops with Yukon potato dauphinoise and a fricassee of spring vegetables.
Dinner and dessert were served on the Obama State China service; in the case of the first course, it was the first time those particular tureens were used.
The guests saw Canadian cabinet ministers such as Catherine McKenna, Hunter Tootoo and Ralph Goodale mixing with, among others, Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of Saturday Night Live; actors Sandra Oh and Mike Myers; CEOs of such corporations as Xerox, Lougheed Martin, and the Dow Chemical Company; and a number of U.S. senators.
After dinner, multiple Grammy-nominated singer Sara Bareilles entertained the assembled guests.
At the state dinner, Trudeau addressed the crowd. On the subject of trade, he jokingly noted: “One of our most popular exports to the United States has been another Justin – Justin Bieber.
“Now, this kid’s had a great year. And of course, leave it to a Canadian to reach international fame with a song called ‘Sorry.’”
Obama also had a few jibes of his own to add.
Saying that he wanted his Canadian friends to feel at home, he offered that the night’s event wasn’t a dinner, but rather a supper.
The president then added: “We thought of serving up some poutine. I was going to bring a two-four. And then we'd finish off the night with a double-double.
“But I had to draw the line at getting milk out of a bag — this, we Americans do not understand. We do, however, have a little Canadian whiskey. That, we do understand.”
The president then leveled a few remarks at the Republican candidates currently running.
Referring to Ted Cruz and the controversy over his Canadian birthplace, he said, “After all, where else could a boy born in Calgary grow up to run for president of the United States?”
Obama welcomes Trudeau, jokes about Cruz at the state dinner. Video from YouTube
Next Obama targeted Trump: “Where else would we see a community like Cape Breton, Nova Scotia welcoming Americans if the election does not go their way?
“And to the great credit of their people, Canadians from British Columbia to New Brunswick have, so far, rejected the idea of building a wall to keep out your southern neighbours. We appreciate that. We can be unruly, I know.”
The Cape Breton reference was to a website that suggested the Atlantic Canadian island would happily take in Americans if Trump was elected president. The latter remark referred to Trump’s promise to build a wall separating the U.S. and Mexico.
But the first White House state dinner in 19 years for a Canadian Prime Minister wasn’t all just “sunny ways.”
In a more serious vein, Trudeau talked about the climate change agreement the two leaders had reached earlier in the day.
“If we truly wish to leave to them a better world than the one we inherited from our own parents – and I know, Mr. President, that you and the First Lady want this as strongly as Sophie and I do – we cannot deny the science,” Trudeau said.
“We cannot pretend that climate change is still up for debate.”
Trudeau went on to say how proud he was of the continental strategy the two leaders negotiated to tackle the issue. “One that respects science and scientists,” he said.
“That takes meaningful, measurable steps to protect our environment and combat climate change. And it’s a plan that allows us to grow our economies as we do it.”
Earlier that day Trudeau and Obama made a number of important policy announcements around climate change and cross-border access, among other things.
Even so, the easy friendship between the two men carried into Obama’s speech before the guests and media in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday.
“We just completed a very productive meeting,” Obama told the gathering, before adding, “Although I regret to inform you that we still have not reached agreement on hockey. But it is not interfering with the rest of our bilateral relationship.”
With that, the president got down to business.
Obama talked about how as the first U.S. President to visit the Arctic he witnessed first-hand the threat to both the United States and Canada from rising seas, melting permafrost, disappearing glaciers and sea ice.
“And so we are focusing on making sure the Paris agreement is fully implemented, and we’re working to double our investments in clean energy research and development,” the president said.
The announcement included a goal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by nearly half; a reduction in the use and emissions of hydrofluorocarbons; and a limit on carbon emissions from aviation.
Obama also announced a new climate and science partnership aimed at protecting the Arctic and its inhabitants. That region is increasingly under pressure from climate change, not only from sea rise and ice melt, but also increased industrialization.
The U.K. Guardian newspaper likened the agreement to a passing of the baton from Obama to Trudeau.
“It signals once again that Obama intends to keep pushing hard on climate change in what was supposed to be the lame duck phase of his presidency,” the Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg wrote from Washington.
“And it improves the prospects of rallying countries to ratify the Paris climate agreement when it opens for signing on 22 April. The agreement needs to be signed by 55 countries responsible for 55% of global emissions to come into force.”
The official welcoming ceremony. Video from YouTube
The two countries re-emphasized their ties and economic and trading partners. The president acknowledged that the U.S. is the top destination for Canadian exports and vice-versa.
“So we’ve instructed our teams to stay focused on making it even easier for goods and people to move back and forth across the borders -- including reducing bottlenecks and streamlining regulations,” Obama said.
Along those lines, the leaders discussed how to move ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and are forging an agreement to pre-clear travellers through immigration and customs.
While the Liberal government received wide criticism for withdrawing its six, CF-18 Fighters from the Syrian conflict, that didn’t seem to impact relations between the two leaders.
Obama told the crowd: “In Syria, the cessation of hostilities has led to a measurable drop in violence in the civil war, and the United States and Canada continue to be leaders in getting humanitarian aid to Syrians who are in desperate need.
“Meanwhile, our two countries continue to safely welcome refugees from that conflict. And I want to commend Justin and the Canadian people once again for their compassionate leadership on this front.”
In general, the president was full of effusive praise for his Canadian counterpart.
Noting that this was his second meeting with Trudeau, Obama spoke about the common outlook of the two nations.
“He campaigned on a message of hope and of change. His positive and optimistic vision is inspiring young people. At home, he’s governing with a commitment to inclusivity and equality. On the world stage, his country is leading on climate change and he cares deeply about development.
“So, from my perspective, what’s not to like?”
Rounding out the visit, which ends Friday - and the bromance, which looks like it could go on indefinitely - Trudeau tweeted: “Sophie and I could not have asked for a better evening. Thank you to the President & First Lady for your warmth, friendship & hospitality.”
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