US President Joe Biden will make his first official visit to Canada in March, the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Tuesday, as the three North American leaders gathered in Mexico City for their trilateral summit.
It is customary for an American president to make a visit to Canada shortly after entering the White House, but President Biden, who took office two years ago, had to postpone this official trip, in particular due to COVID-19.
Confirmation of the oft-delayed trip came just as Mr. Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gathered at the National Palace in Mexico City to officially begin their three-way meeting.
President Biden’s official visit to Canada will provide an opportunity to discuss substantive issues — and ongoing progress, sources say — including the cross-border dispute over the NEXUS “low-risk traveler” program.
Sources familiar with the matter expect the summit to result in an agreement that will allow the reopening of NEXUS enrollment centers in Canada, including interviews with US border agents that would take place at Canadian airport facilities that already provide pre-screening services for travelers to the United States.
NEXUS applicants, who must be interviewed by Canadian and US authorities, would interview US officials for this part of the process before traveling to the United States, provided they are traveling shortly and departing from a airport where this “pre-approval” service is offered. These are the international airports of Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and Winnipeg.
Before the formalities at the National Palace of Mexico, MM. Biden and Trudeau had met one-on-one on Tuesday, briefly exchanging pleasantries and remarks for the cameras.
Last November, at the G20 meeting in Indonesia, the two men notably discussed the need for Canada and the United States to expand their partnership, Biden said on Tuesday.
“It’s something we can do – I think your phrase was, ‘When we work together, we can achieve great things,’” he said. What we should be doing, and what we are doing, is demonstrate the limitless economic potential we have in North America. »
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that the United States would pressure Canada to play an active role in supporting security forces in Haiti, a theme Mr. Biden was quick to mention Tuesday as well.
“We are going to discuss how we can try to help stabilize Haiti, how we can manage migration and at the same time strengthen our national security,” said the American president.
Mr. Trudeau did not specifically mention Haiti, but he pointed out that North America’s economic potential was limitless if it worked as a whole.
“We have a lot to contribute to the world in goods and services, but also in technologies and solutions that the world really needs,” said Mr. Trudeau. Our ability to work together has brought us extraordinary success so far, but at a time of global upheaval, with very real challenges, we can and must do even more. »
This is the first official bilateral meeting for MM. Biden and Trudeau from the Summit of the Americas in June in Los Angeles.
Much like at that summit last year, Mr. Biden’s agenda in Mexico City will be dominated by the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border. His meeting with Mr. Trudeau was therefore the Prime Minister’s best opportunity to put pressure on the President on issues of more specific interest to Canada.
According to a report provided by the White House, MM. Biden and Trudeau discussed many topics during their one-on-one. They addressed trade, security in Haiti, critical mineral supply chains and green energy, among others.