Oh, Canada! Obama Makes First Foreign Visit

Today, Barak Obama is travelling to Canada for his first official trip abroad as President. Though it will be a brief working visit lasting only about six hours, the importance of the trip should not be underestimated. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Harper and President Obama, and will be an opportunity for the two leaders to establish a personal connection and to begin a dialogue on issues of mutual importance, as well as for the leaders’ staffers to meet their respective counterparts-- a critical step in maintaining a relationship that is of paramount importance for each of the two countries.

Canada is a traditional first stop for U.S. presidents in recent years-- 7 of the last 15 presidents paid their first visit north of the border, and three out of the last four. (George W. Bush visited Mexico first and Canada second.) This tradition is both warranted and necessary-- Canada and the United States have the single largest bilateral trade partnership in the world, with a trade volume equivalent to over $1.6 billion per day in 2008. Canada also supplies more oil and natural gas to the U.S. than other country-- it is the source of 18.3% of U.S. crude oil imports and 82.1% of natural gas imports. (For context: the next largest U.S. trading partner after Canada is China at $1.1 billion in trade per day, and the next largest supplier of oil is Saudi Arabia at 11% of U.S. imports.) This is not even to mention the massive person-to-person contact between the countries: approximately 300,000 people cross the shared border each day.

The visit and the joint press conference that the two leaders will give this afternoon is an important opportunity for President Obama to speak directly to public opinion in Canada. Though recent polls have shown approval ratings of up to 86% for Mr. Obama (far higher than even the Prime Minister is currently pulling in), there have been lingering concerns in the country over the value that President Obama places on the U.S. relationship with Canada—his campaign statements about reopening the North American Free Trade Agreement and the more recent controversy over Congressional "Buy American" legislation are two particular sore spots. Though some critics have complained that the brevity of the visit could be considered a slight to Canada, others have emphasized that the fact the President wanted this to be a working meeting rather than a gala-filled state visit demonstrates a "get down to business" attitude and willingness to listen to and consult with his key allies.