OTTAWA, Canada—Emphasizing the importance of the U.S.-Canada partnership, President Joe Biden addressed Canadian Parliament on March 24 after bilateral meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The two leaders met in Ottawa days after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered in Moscow where they proclaimed their partnership would help shape a new world order guided by China and Russia.
Biden noted that this is his first visit to Canada as president and that Trudeau was his first meeting with a foreign leader as president, one month after he took office.
“Today, our destinies are intertwined. They’re inseparable, not because of the inevitability of geography. But because it’s a choice,” Biden said. “The United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we will find no better partner.”
Biden called Canada a “reliable ally” and a “steady friend.”
Early in his speech, Biden said, “Americans love Canadians and that’s not hyperbole” before referencing a Gallup poll that showed that 88 percent of Americans surveyed have a favorable rating of Canada.
“Americans and Canadians are two people, two countries, in my view, sharing one heart,” Biden said. “It’s a personal connection: No two nations on Earth are bound by such close ties—friendship, family, commerce, and cultures.
“That doesn’t mean we never disagree, as any two countries will do from time to time. When we disagree, we solve our differences in friendship and goodwill because we both understand our interests are fundamentally aligned.”
Trudeau and Biden reinforced their countries’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine in its war against Russia, and to the NATO alliance.
In a joint statement on March 24, the two leaders condemned Russia “for its illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war against Ukraine, and will continue imposing economic costs on Russia, while maintaining our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Biden and Trudeau also said they “acknowledge the serious long-term challenge to the international order posed by the People’s Republic of China, including disruptive actions such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and human rights abuses.
“While we will cooperate with China in areas of mutual interest, such as on climate change, we remain committed to ensuring our ability to compete effectively with China on a level playing field,” the statement read. “Canada and the United States will also continue to cooperate on countering foreign interference in our societies in a manner that reflects our shared democratic values.”
Largest Trading Partner
Canada is “our largest trading partner” with around $2.6 billion in goods and services each day crossing the shared border, which is the world’s longest land border, Biden said.The president also told Canada’s Parliament that the countries will grow a clean energy economy by using legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act to accelerate the clean energy transition and make North America a clean energy powerhouse.
We will use the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to build integrated supply chains and make North America more competitive, he said.
A White House statement noted that, “We will work to harmonize charging standards and develop cross-border alternative fuel corridors, drawing on USD $7.5 billion in the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CAD $1.2 billion to build a network of electric vehicle fast chargers and community charging options on both sides of the border.”
Biden drew an ovation when he said that he and Trudeau “build administrations that look like America and look like Canada” and that “both of us have cabinets that are 50 percent women for the first time.”
As the audience stood and cheered, Biden joked, “Even if you don’t agree, guys, stand up.”
After the speech, Biden and Trudeau announced an agreement between the nations on migrants and asylum seekers.
Trudeau had requested assistance from the Biden administration to limit the flood of migrants who are entering Canada from the United States and asking for asylum.
The deal will allow the two countries to turn away migrants who are caught between official points of entry along the U.S.-Canada border.
“The United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings and fully implement the updated ’safe third country' agreement,” Biden told Parliament members.
Biden took a moment to recognize Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were detained in China in December 2018 and held captive for more than 1,000 days. That happened not long after Canadian police detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications equipment titan Huawei Technologies Co Ltd., on a U.S. warrant.
As expected, Biden also brought up his administration’s call for upgrading the NORAD early warning system.
Vulnerabilities of that system were exposed earlier this year when a Chinese spy balloon ventured into the skies over both nations.
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