United States president Joe Biden will visit Canada Thursday and Friday to discuss defence, economic, and policy issues with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the first such visit since 2016..The meeting was announced March 9 with statements on both sides of the border that included similar content, but led with slightly different emphases. The Canadian statement said Canada would “strengthen trade ties, create good jobs, grow the middle class, and drive economic growth…increase collaboration on defence and security, climate action, and immigration.”.President Barack Obama hosted Trudeau at the White House in March of 2016, then Obama came to Ottawa the following June. Obama addressed Parliament on that visit as Joe Biden will do on Friday. Biden last visited Canada as Vice President in December 2016, and First Lady Jill Biden will accompany him for the upcoming visit..The leaders’ meetings stopped during the Trump presidency. Rob Huebert, political science professor at the University of Calgary, said the relationship between the two began poorly and only got worse..“One of the sore points between Trudeau and Trump was the was obviously the American perception that Canada was not paying its weight in terms of NATO or defence expenditure,” Huebert said..“What's caught some people a little off guard is that it has taken this long for those [leaders’] meetings to resume.”.Last month, three unidentified objects and a Chinese spy balloon and were shot down over North America, in what Huebert believes were China’s test of the U.S. and Canadian response..“The speculation is that you're doing intelligence gathering, both in terms of direct observation and in terms of the response of us. This is something that Biden will be wanting to talk to Trudeau, absolutely,” Huebert said..Support for Ukraine will also be discussed. Huebert said it’s not true that Russia strangely faltered in its invasion..“Clearly this is the Russian way of war…They start off slow, they have a series of bad [outcomes] but they stay at it,” Huebert said..“What makes the second phase of the Ukrainian war so distinctive from the first phase of Ukrainian war, and the Georgian and the Chechnyan wars, is that the West is actively resupplying.”.Huebert believes if the West, and especially the U.S. Congress, does not remain stalwart in its support for Ukraine, Russia will know it can prevail. .“There is a certain criticality of ensuring that that supply chain of ammunition, of equipment, is made clear to both the Ukrainians to shore up their morale, but also that's the only way that the Russians are going to see that they cannot persevere.”.James Fergusson, a political studies professor at the University of Manitoba, discussed other defence and foreign policy issues at play..“There will be probably some discussions about the Arctic issues with regards to Russian and growing Chinese presence in the Arctic, but nothing related to sovereignty,” Fergusson said in an interview with the Western Standard..“They will talk defence issues, reiterate the commitment that Biden and Trudeau made in 2021 about NORAD modernization and North American defense modernization. They may talk a bit about the Australian-UK-American agreement in the Pacific relative to the Indo-Pacific strategy.".Trudeau said he has advised Biden he wants to discuss the Safe Third Country Agreement. The agreement says asylum hopefuls entering Canada at a land port of entry continue to be ineligible to make a refugee claim, and will be returned to the U.S. Trudeau wants the agreement renegotiated to include open border crossings such as Roxham Road in Quebec..In February, Quebec Premier Francois Legault asked that asylum seekers be settled outside his province and for Ottawa to pay for their settlement. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded by calling on Trudeau to shut down the crossing entirely..Huebert said the U.S. could be open to solving Trudeau's problem, but may want something in return..“It's obviously something that from a political perspective, but also a policy perspective, that he wants to solve. I could see the possibility, but it depends on the overall package that is being negotiated right now.”.Fergusson says given the enormity of America’s southern border issues, handling the northern ones will probably be simple..“For the United States, the big border problem is the south. So it will probably be discussed how to fix this [Canadian situation]. And it shouldn't be that difficult.”.Such big issues to Canada often seem less consequential to the U.S., according to Don Desserud. In an interview with the Western Standard, the political science professor at the University of PEI, recalled when Bush-era defence adviser Condoleezza Rice said, “Here come the Canadians with their condominium issues.".“What she meant by that was that the Canadians take trivial issues very seriously. Americans think that they're trivial. They don't see them as being important. They're always surprised by how important we take them,” Dusserud said..“It's not because they're trying to be insulting. What they're saying is that they don't think the issues that concern Canadians are so devastating. In other words, they can be solved easily, so don't get worked up about it. We can figure this out.”.Scott Edward Bennett, a Carleton University political science professor, said alongside the talk of mutual friendship, the meetings may indicate some policy shifts. .“There will be a subtle pivot to start preparing the public, particularly the left leaning public in both countries, for what will be described as practical adjustments to aspirations in the midst of a turbulent world,” Bennett told the Western Standard..“So, there will still be a lot of happy talk, but it will also be the subtle beginning of more cooperation in developing traditional forms of energy, cooperating in surveillance and defence, guarding technology from foreign interests, adapting to rapidly changing alliances in the rest of the world and dealing with illegal immigration.”.Although press releases from both sides of the border say the leaders will discuss how to advance green energy, Bennett thinks traditional energy might also be discussed..“Remember, Biden has just opened vast amounts of oil drilling space on the Alaskan coast. To make the best use of this, the Americans will need more pipelines developed and easier tanker access. One way or another, this will affect Canada,” Bennett explained..“Biden has to keep the Europeans convinced that he is thinking about the energy needs in light of the situation in Russia. Apart from reassuring allies about energy supply, his own population will want more traditional energy. Of course, there will still be all the hopeful talk about alternative energy.”.Four major U.S. rivers, the Colorado, Mississippi, Snake, and Mobile, are drying up. Bennett thinks water could be the next Canadian commodity for export, and Biden may bring the topic up..“The USA needs more water. We have a lot of fresh water, and all the major powers are aware of that. Can the Americans move Trudeau toward sharing water or commodifying it so that American corporations can get a jump on taking control of that resource. It will require new treaties.”
United States president Joe Biden will visit Canada Thursday and Friday to discuss defence, economic, and policy issues with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the first such visit since 2016..The meeting was announced March 9 with statements on both sides of the border that included similar content, but led with slightly different emphases. The Canadian statement said Canada would “strengthen trade ties, create good jobs, grow the middle class, and drive economic growth…increase collaboration on defence and security, climate action, and immigration.”.President Barack Obama hosted Trudeau at the White House in March of 2016, then Obama came to Ottawa the following June. Obama addressed Parliament on that visit as Joe Biden will do on Friday. Biden last visited Canada as Vice President in December 2016, and First Lady Jill Biden will accompany him for the upcoming visit..The leaders’ meetings stopped during the Trump presidency. Rob Huebert, political science professor at the University of Calgary, said the relationship between the two began poorly and only got worse..“One of the sore points between Trudeau and Trump was the was obviously the American perception that Canada was not paying its weight in terms of NATO or defence expenditure,” Huebert said..“What's caught some people a little off guard is that it has taken this long for those [leaders’] meetings to resume.”.Last month, three unidentified objects and a Chinese spy balloon and were shot down over North America, in what Huebert believes were China’s test of the U.S. and Canadian response..“The speculation is that you're doing intelligence gathering, both in terms of direct observation and in terms of the response of us. This is something that Biden will be wanting to talk to Trudeau, absolutely,” Huebert said..Support for Ukraine will also be discussed. Huebert said it’s not true that Russia strangely faltered in its invasion..“Clearly this is the Russian way of war…They start off slow, they have a series of bad [outcomes] but they stay at it,” Huebert said..“What makes the second phase of the Ukrainian war so distinctive from the first phase of Ukrainian war, and the Georgian and the Chechnyan wars, is that the West is actively resupplying.”.Huebert believes if the West, and especially the U.S. Congress, does not remain stalwart in its support for Ukraine, Russia will know it can prevail. .“There is a certain criticality of ensuring that that supply chain of ammunition, of equipment, is made clear to both the Ukrainians to shore up their morale, but also that's the only way that the Russians are going to see that they cannot persevere.”.James Fergusson, a political studies professor at the University of Manitoba, discussed other defence and foreign policy issues at play..“There will be probably some discussions about the Arctic issues with regards to Russian and growing Chinese presence in the Arctic, but nothing related to sovereignty,” Fergusson said in an interview with the Western Standard..“They will talk defence issues, reiterate the commitment that Biden and Trudeau made in 2021 about NORAD modernization and North American defense modernization. They may talk a bit about the Australian-UK-American agreement in the Pacific relative to the Indo-Pacific strategy.".Trudeau said he has advised Biden he wants to discuss the Safe Third Country Agreement. The agreement says asylum hopefuls entering Canada at a land port of entry continue to be ineligible to make a refugee claim, and will be returned to the U.S. Trudeau wants the agreement renegotiated to include open border crossings such as Roxham Road in Quebec..In February, Quebec Premier Francois Legault asked that asylum seekers be settled outside his province and for Ottawa to pay for their settlement. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded by calling on Trudeau to shut down the crossing entirely..Huebert said the U.S. could be open to solving Trudeau's problem, but may want something in return..“It's obviously something that from a political perspective, but also a policy perspective, that he wants to solve. I could see the possibility, but it depends on the overall package that is being negotiated right now.”.Fergusson says given the enormity of America’s southern border issues, handling the northern ones will probably be simple..“For the United States, the big border problem is the south. So it will probably be discussed how to fix this [Canadian situation]. And it shouldn't be that difficult.”.Such big issues to Canada often seem less consequential to the U.S., according to Don Desserud. In an interview with the Western Standard, the political science professor at the University of PEI, recalled when Bush-era defence adviser Condoleezza Rice said, “Here come the Canadians with their condominium issues.".“What she meant by that was that the Canadians take trivial issues very seriously. Americans think that they're trivial. They don't see them as being important. They're always surprised by how important we take them,” Dusserud said..“It's not because they're trying to be insulting. What they're saying is that they don't think the issues that concern Canadians are so devastating. In other words, they can be solved easily, so don't get worked up about it. We can figure this out.”.Scott Edward Bennett, a Carleton University political science professor, said alongside the talk of mutual friendship, the meetings may indicate some policy shifts. .“There will be a subtle pivot to start preparing the public, particularly the left leaning public in both countries, for what will be described as practical adjustments to aspirations in the midst of a turbulent world,” Bennett told the Western Standard..“So, there will still be a lot of happy talk, but it will also be the subtle beginning of more cooperation in developing traditional forms of energy, cooperating in surveillance and defence, guarding technology from foreign interests, adapting to rapidly changing alliances in the rest of the world and dealing with illegal immigration.”.Although press releases from both sides of the border say the leaders will discuss how to advance green energy, Bennett thinks traditional energy might also be discussed..“Remember, Biden has just opened vast amounts of oil drilling space on the Alaskan coast. To make the best use of this, the Americans will need more pipelines developed and easier tanker access. One way or another, this will affect Canada,” Bennett explained..“Biden has to keep the Europeans convinced that he is thinking about the energy needs in light of the situation in Russia. Apart from reassuring allies about energy supply, his own population will want more traditional energy. Of course, there will still be all the hopeful talk about alternative energy.”.Four major U.S. rivers, the Colorado, Mississippi, Snake, and Mobile, are drying up. Bennett thinks water could be the next Canadian commodity for export, and Biden may bring the topic up..“The USA needs more water. We have a lot of fresh water, and all the major powers are aware of that. Can the Americans move Trudeau toward sharing water or commodifying it so that American corporations can get a jump on taking control of that resource. It will require new treaties.”
