Obama Warms Up Ottawa

President Obama traveled to Canada on February 19 for his first official foreign visit , accompanied by top advisors including economic advisor Lawrence Summers, energy and climate coordinator Carol Browner, and National Security Advisor Jim L. Jones—clear indications of presidential priorities.

At a joint news conference, both the U.S. and Canadian leaders stressed the close bilateral relationship and announced a new environmental initiative, which will serve as the first step toward a North American climate change treaty. Skipping a public speech or address to Parliament, Obama instead met privately with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor General Michaëlle Jean, and opposition leader Michael Ignatieff.

The ‘clean-energy dialogue’ announced by Obama and Harper would focus on developing clean energy technology, an important issue during Obama’s campaign, and target the pollution caused by Canadian tar sands and U.S coal. Canada’s tar sands are viewed by the U.S. Department of Energy as critically important to U.S. energy security. But the costly extraction process has slowed in the wake of the global economic downturn and critics call the process environmentally devastating. Canada remains the United States’ main oil supplier as well as its top source of natural gas and electricity imports.

This show of cooperation takes place after signs of tensions emerged between the Obama and Harper governments. The U.S. Congress’ recent moves to include the controversial “Buy American” clause in the economic stimulus package ruffled feathers in Canada. “[W]e expect the United States to respect its international obligations,” said Harper in response to the plan, which would have broadly restricted the use of foreign iron, steel, and other manufactured goods in infrastructure projects funded by the stimulus package. The final $787 bill—signed into law by the President on Tuesday—includes such provisions, but as Obama stressed in an interview with Canadian television, the final version of the bill now mandates consistency with international trade agreements. “We feel very good about the progress,” said International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, but warned, “I'm not saying it's over.”

This spat may be an opportunity to turn the corner and find new ways of jointly tackling the economic downturn. Canada is the United States’ biggest trading partner, with total trade between the two amounting to almost $6 billion through from January to December 2008. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday, Obama emphasized that it’s “not in anybody’s interest to see that trade diminish.” He reiterated this stance in Thursday’s news conference in Canada, underlining the importance of strong trade flows especially during the financial crisis. Fully incorporating labor and environmental provisions into the North American Free Trade Agreement remains a priority, he said—a campaign trail promise to renegotiate the agreement raised eyebrows in Canada—but now takes a backseat to maintaining trade ties.

Another area of mutual interest is bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan, yet approaches seem to differ. The Canadian parliament recently voted to pull its troops from Afghanistan by 2011, while Obama committed to deploying over 17,000 additional U.S. soldiers, bringing the total U.S. presence in Afghanistan to 55,000 troops. But Obama did not push for an additional Canadian military commitment in his meetings with Harper, instead noting that the United States is “extraordinarily grateful” for Canada’s help. A Council on Foreign Relations analysis suggests that the Obama administration will shift NATO forces into development and civilian roles.

AS/COA hosted a pre-trip discussion highlighting major issues the two leaders were likely to touch upon, including trade, energy policy, and security. Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada James Blanchard underscored the vital importance of keeping credit flowing between the two countries to spur economic recovery.