Visits by the President of the United States to Canada have been a part of Canada – United States relations since the early twentieth century.
Presidential visits can be purely political or highly ceremonial, because the president of the United States is both head of state and head of government. The representative of Canada who will host the president depends on the nature of the visit. It may be an official state visit – wherein he is hosted by the Canadian monarch or governor general and participates in ceremonial events – or a working visit, which may or may not include a meeting with the Canadian head of state, and focuses mostly on government business, such as discussions with the prime minister.
Until the 20th century, the sitting US President did not travel abroad. After Woodrow Wilson's trip to attend the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, however, the presidents began to undertake more foreign visits. Since that time, Canada has become one of the most common destinations for the US leader; only a few presidents have neglected to make the trip, such as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter,[1] and of the 46 foreign dignitaries to have addressed a joint session of the Canadian parliament, six have been US presidents, with Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower both speaking twice. It has now become tradition that the first foreign visit made by a US president should be to Canada; since 1981 all presidents (except George W. Bush who visited Mexico before visiting Canada) have chosen the country's northern neighbour as their first international trip.[2]
Contents |
| President | Date | Type | Hosted by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren G. Harding | 26 July 1923[3] | Official | None | Harding was the first sitting US President to visit Canada, stopping in Vancouver on his way home from Alaska. It was in Vancouver that a crowd of 50,000 gathered to hear the President speak; however, while playing golf there, Harding contracted pneumonia, and a week later died.[1] |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | 29 June – 1 July 1933 | Unofficial | None | This was a private vacation to the Roosevelt family home on New Brunswick's Campobello Island.[4] |
| 28 July – 31 July 1936 | State/unofficial | The Baron Tweedsmuir Governor General of Canada |
The first three days of the trip were to Campobello Island for a vacation; on 31 July Roosevelt travelled to Quebec City for official duties.[4] | |
| 18 August 1938 | State | Albert Edward Matthews[5] Lieutenant Governor of Ontario |
The President, along with Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, dedicated the Thousand Islands Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River. At the same time, Roosevelt also received an honorary degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.[4][6] | |
| 14 August – 16 August 1939 | Unofficial | None | This was a vacation to Campobello Island and to Sydney, Nova Scotia.[4] | |
| 21 August – 23 August 1939 | Unofficial | None | Roosevelt stopped at Halifax, Nova Scotia on his way back to the United States.[4] | |
| 17 August – 25 August 1943 | Working | The Earl of Athlone Governor General of Canada |
Roosevelt travelled to Canada to attend the Quebec Conference in Quebec City, Quebec.[4] The conference was also attended by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. | |
| 11 September – 16 September 1944 | Working | William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister of Canada |
Roosevelt returned to Quebec for the second Quebec Conference,[4] attended by the same dignitaries as the year previous. | |
| Harry S. Truman | 10 June – 12 June 1947 | State | The Earl of Athlone Governor General of Canada |
Truman met with the Governor General and Prime Minister Mackenzie King in what was only his second of four peacetime trips abroad.[1][7] |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | 13 November – 15 November 1953 | State | Vincent Massey Governor General of Canada |
Eisenhower resided at Rideau Hall and addressed a joint session of parliament.[8] |
| 8 July – 11 July 1958 | Working | John Diefenbaker Prime Minister of Canada |
Eisenhower again addressed a joint session of the Canadian parliament.[8] | |
| 26 June 1959 | State | Elizabeth II Queen of Canada |
Eisenhower and the Queen jointly opened the Saint Lawrence Seaway.[8] | |
| John F. Kennedy | 16 May – 18 May 1961 | State | Georges Vanier Governor General of Canada |
This was Kennedy's first foreign trip following his inauguration; he travelled to Ottawa and addressed a joint session of parliament.[1][9] |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | 16 September 1964 | Working | Lester B. Pearson Prime Minister of Canada |
Johnson met with Prime Minister Pearson to participate in ceremonies related to the Columbia River Treaty.[1][10] |
| 21 August – 22 August 1966 | State | John B. McNair Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick |
Johnson travelled to Campobello Island to lay the cornerstone of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park and conferred informally with Prime Minister Pearson.[10] | |
| 25 May 1967 | State | Roland Michener Governor General of Canada |
Johnson was in Montreal for Expo 67, and met privately with the Governor General and Prime Minister Pearson.[10] | |
| Richard Nixon | 13 April – 15 April 1972 | State | Roland Michener Governor General of Canada |
Nixon travelled to Ottawa to address parliament and meet with Prime Minister Trudeau to sign the Great Lakes Treaty.[11] |
| Ronald Reagan | 10 March – 11 March 1981 | State | Edward Schreyer Governor General of Canada |
This was Reagan's first international trip as president, during which he met with the Governor General, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and gave a speech to a joint session of parliament.[12] |
| 19 July – 21 July 1981 | Working | Pierre Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada |
Reagan was in Montebello, Quebec to attend the 7th G7 summit.[12] | |
| 17 March – 18 March 1985 | Working | Brian Mulroney Prime Minister of Canada |
Reagan met with Mulroney for the Shamrock Summit in Quebec City, Quebec.[1][12] | |
| 4 April – 5 April 1987 | State | Jeanne Sauvé Governor General of Canada |
Reagan travelled to Ottawa and resided at Rideau Hall, where he met with Governor General Sauvé, and Prime Minister Mulroney, and addressed a joint session of parliament on 6 April.[12] | |
| 19 June – 21 June 1988 | Working | Brian Mulroney Prime Minister of Canada |
Reagan was in Toronto, Ontario, to attend the 14th G7 summit.[12] | |
| George H. W. Bush | 10 February 1989 | Working | Brian Mulroney Prime Minister of Canada |
This was Bush's first international trip as president, during which he went to Ottawa to meet with Prime Minister Mulroney.[13] |
| 10 April 1990 | Bush was in Toronto to meet with Prime Minister Mulroney.[13] | |||
| 13 March – 14 March 1991 | Bush was in Ottawa to meet with Prime Minister Mulroney and sign the Air Quality Agreement.[13] | |||
| 9 July 1991 | Bush went to Toronto to meet with Prime Minister Mulroney.[13] | |||
| Bill Clinton | 3 April – 4 April 1993 | Working | Brian Mulroney Prime Minister of Canada |
This was Clinton's first foreign trip as president, in which he travelled to Vancouver to attend a summit meeting with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Mulroney.[1][14] |
| 22 February – 24 February 1995 | State | Roméo LeBlanc Governor General of Canada |
Clinton undertook various ceremonial duties in Ottawa, including speaking to a joint session of parliament.[15] | |
| 15 June – 17 June 1995 | Working | Jean Chrétien Prime Minister of Canada |
Clinton went to Halifax to attend the 21st G7 summit.[16] | |
| 23 – 25 November 1997 | Clinton was in Vancouver to attend the 9th APEC summit.[16] | |||
| 7 – 8 October 1999 | Clinton travelled to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, to meet with the Prime Minister and Premier of Quebec Lucien Bouchard, and attend a conference on federalism, before moving on to Ottawa, where he opened the US Embassy.[16] | |||
| George W. Bush | 20 April – 22 April 2001 | Working | Jean Chrétien Prime Minister of Canada |
Bush went to Quebec City to attend the Summit of the Americas.[17] This was not Bush's first foreign visit, which a number of Canadians viewed as a slight.[2] |
| 25 June – 27 June 2002 | Bush was in Kananaskis, Alberta, to attend the 28th G8 summit.[17] | |||
| 1 December 2004 | State | Myra Freeman Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia |
Bush travelled to Halifax to deliver an official speech at Pier 21 and conduct a series of other events before returning to the US the same day.[18] | |
| Barack Obama | 19 February 2009 | Working | Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada |
Obama made his first international trip a brief five hour visit to Ottawa, where he was greeted by Governor General Michaëlle Jean and held meetings with Prime Minister Harper and Michael Ignatieff, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. |
| 25 June – 27 June 2010 | Travelled to Huntsville, Ontario to attend the 36th G8 summit and to Toronto for the 2010 G-20 summit |