A cordial visit, but which should not evacuate some delicate subjects. The American President Joe Biden arrived Thursday at Canada, hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trade, military cooperation, the situation in Haiti : these hot spots will be addressed by the two leaders. Another source of friction seemed on the verge of being ironed out on Thursday: the question of irregular immigration arriving from the United States to Canada.
Radio Canada and the New York Times announced at the end of the day that the two countries had reached an agreement to close the main access route for migrants, located south of Montreal. This Friday, the two leaders will have a working meeting, before Joe Biden addresses the Canadian Parliament. This is the first visit of its kind since that of Barack Obama in 2009.
A renewed cordiality between the two countries since the departure of Trump
This trip marks the cordiality rediscovered between the two countries after the presidency of Donald Trumpwho had a notoriously difficult relationship with Justin Trudeau. This time, the tone will be quite different but that does not eliminate all the friction issues.
Another thorny subject could be that of defence, and more particularly the Canadian contribution to NATO and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad). The United States and Canada are on the same wavelength when it comes to supporting Ukraine.
But Ottawa is far from devoting 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending, the threshold set for NATO member countries. The two leaders are expected to finally talk about the situation in Haiti, which is plagued by extreme gang violence and a humanitarian crisis. Washington would welcome Canada playing a leading role in sending an international force to the country.
For the Biden administration, “the situation on the ground will not improve without international military assistance”, explained Karine Jean-Pierre, the spokeswoman for the White House, indicating that the “discussions” were continuing with Canada and other countries.
