WASHINGTON-President-elect Barack Obama will make Canada his first international destination after the inauguration on Jan. 20.
Canada is the largest trading partner of the United States, a strategic ally in Afghanistan, and the largest supplier of oil to the United States.
The trip may help ease any lingering concerns about the value the next president places on his relationship with Canada.
Although Canadians favored Obama over opponent John McCain by a 3-to-1 ratio during the election campaign, he nonetheless ruffled some feathers in Canada with a comment about reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the primaries. And, unlike McCain, Obama made no trips to Canada during the campaign.
Three of the last four presidents have gone to Canada for their first foreign visit. Obama’s team has been communicating regularly with its counterpart on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s team.
“We have been in close contact with President-elect Obama’s transition team. We can confirm that the President-elect has accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation to visit Canada soon after he is inaugurated. This will be President Obama’s first foreign visit,” said Harper’s office in a statement on Saturday.
Interestingly, Harper’s minority government may face a confidence vote in Parliament before Obama’s visit. His right-leaning Conservative party holds a minority of seats in parliament, and depends on the support of at least one of the three other major parties.
In early December, Harper dissolved, or prorogued, parliament in order to stave off an earlier confidence vote that could have catapulted a Liberal party-led coalition to power. The possibility of another election or of a coalition taking power will continue to loom large when the Canadian parliament returns from its recess.
The exact date of Obama’s trip will likely not be known until after his Inauguration. The meeting between Obama and Harper will likely focus on Canada-U.S. bilateral trade, the state of the North American auto industry, and the war in Afghanistan.
Canada is the largest trading partner of the United States, a strategic ally in Afghanistan, and the largest supplier of oil to the United States.
The trip may help ease any lingering concerns about the value the next president places on his relationship with Canada.
Although Canadians favored Obama over opponent John McCain by a 3-to-1 ratio during the election campaign, he nonetheless ruffled some feathers in Canada with a comment about reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the primaries. And, unlike McCain, Obama made no trips to Canada during the campaign.
Three of the last four presidents have gone to Canada for their first foreign visit. Obama’s team has been communicating regularly with its counterpart on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s team.
“We have been in close contact with President-elect Obama’s transition team. We can confirm that the President-elect has accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation to visit Canada soon after he is inaugurated. This will be President Obama’s first foreign visit,” said Harper’s office in a statement on Saturday.
Interestingly, Harper’s minority government may face a confidence vote in Parliament before Obama’s visit. His right-leaning Conservative party holds a minority of seats in parliament, and depends on the support of at least one of the three other major parties.
In early December, Harper dissolved, or prorogued, parliament in order to stave off an earlier confidence vote that could have catapulted a Liberal party-led coalition to power. The possibility of another election or of a coalition taking power will continue to loom large when the Canadian parliament returns from its recess.
The exact date of Obama’s trip will likely not be known until after his Inauguration. The meeting between Obama and Harper will likely focus on Canada-U.S. bilateral trade, the state of the North American auto industry, and the war in Afghanistan.
