United States presidential visits to Canada

Governor General Michaëlle Jean escorts President Barack Obama from Air Force One, in Ottawa, Ontario, during his first presidential visit to Canada in 2009.

There have been thirty-seven United States presidential visits to Canada over the past century. These visits can be purely political or highly ceremonial, as the U.S. president 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 American 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 U.S. president should be to Canada; since 1981 all presidents (except George W. Bush who visited Mexico before he visited Canada) have chosen to do so.

Table of visits

President Dates Locations Notes
Warren G. Harding July 26, 1923 Vancouver Official reception during return from Alaska,[2] hosted by British Columbia Premier John Oliver and Vancouver mayor Charles Tisdall.[3]
Franklin D. Roosevelt June 29-July 1, 1933 Campobello Island Vacation.[4]
July 28-30, 1936 Campobello Island Vacation.[4]
July 31, 1936 Quebec City Official visit; met with Governor General John Buchan.[4]
August 18, 1938 Kingston Received honorary degree from Queen's University and together with Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Albert Edward Matthews, dedicated the Thousand Islands Bridge.[4]
August 14-16, 1939 Campobello Island,
Sydney		 Vacation.[4]
August 21-23, 1939 Halifax Stopped while returning to the United States.[4]
August 17-25, 1943 Quebec City
Ottawa		 Attended First Quebec Conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.[4]
September 11-16, 1944 Quebec City Attended Second Quebec Conference with British Prime Minister Churchill and the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff.[4]
Harry S. Truman June 10-12, 1947 Ottawa Official visit; met with the Governor General, the Earl of Athlone and Prime Minister Mackenzie King.[5]
Dwight D. Eisenhower November 13-15, 1953 Ottawa State visit; addressed joint session of the Canadian Parliament.[6]
July 8-11, 1958 Ottawa Informal visit; addressed joint session of Parliament.[6]
June 26, 1959 Montreal Joined Queen Elizabeth II in ceremony opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.[6]
John F. Kennedy May 16-18, 1961 Ottawa State visit; addressed joint session of Parliament.[7]
Lyndon B. Johnson September 16, 1964 Vancouver Informal visit; met with Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in ceremonies related to the Columbia River Treaty.[8]
August 21-22, 1966 Campobello Island,
Chamcook		 Laid cornerstone at Roosevelt Campobello International Park and conferred informally with Prime Minister Pearson.[8]
May 25, 1967 Montreal,
Ottawa		 Attended Expo 67, and met privately with the Governor General Roland Michener and Prime Minister Pearson.[8]
Richard M. Nixon April 13-15, 1972 Ottawa State visit; addressed parliament and met with Governor General Michener and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,[9] and signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.[10]
Ronald Reagan March 10-11, 1981 Ottawa State visit; met with Governor General Edward Schreyer and Prime Minister Trudeau and addressed Parliament.[11]
July 19-21, 1981 Ottawa,
Montebello		 Attended 7th G7 summit with heads of state and government from Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.[11]
March 17-18, 1985 Quebec City Met with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.[11] The meeting was commonly known as the Shamrock Summit.
April 4-6, 1987 Ottawa Official visit; met with Prime Minister Mulroney and addressed Parliament.[11]
June 19-21, 1988 Toronto Attended 14th G7 summit with heads of state and government from Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.[11]
George H. W. Bush February 10, 1989 Ottawa Working visit; met with Prime Minister Mulroney.[12]
April 10, 1990 Toronto Informal meeting with Prime Minister Mulroney.[12]
March 13-14, 1991 Ottawa Met with Prime Minister Mulroney and signed an Air Quality Agreement.[12]
July 9, 1991 Toronto Informal meeting with Prime Minister Mulroney.[12]
Bill Clinton April 3-4, 1993 Vancouver Summit meeting with Russian President Boris Yeltsin; also met with Prime Minister Mulroney.[13]
February 23-24, 1995 Ottawa State visit; addresssed a joint session of Parliament.[13]
June 15-17, 1995 Halifax Attended 21st G7 summit with heads of state and government from Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Also met with Russian President Yeltsin.[13]
November 23-25, 1997 Vancouver Attended APEC Summit meeting.[13]
October 7-8, 1999 Ottawa,
Mont-Tremblant		 Working visit. Met with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, attended Federalism Conference, and dedicated new American Embassy building.[13]
George W. Bush April 20-22, 2001 Quebec City Attended the 3rd Summit of the Americas.[14]
June 25-27, 2002 Kananaskis Attended the G-8 Economic Summit.[14]
November 30-
December 1, 2004		 Ottawa,
Gatineau,
Halifax 		Delivered a speech at Pier 21 in Halifax, met with Prime Minister Paul Martin and conducted a series of other events.[14]
August 20-21, 2007 Montebello Attended the North American Leaders' Summit, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderón.[14]
Barack Obama February 19, 2009 Ottawa Greeted by Governor General Michaëlle Jean; met with Prime Minister Harper.[15]
June 25-27, 2010 Huntsville,
Toronto		 Attended the G-8 and G-20 economic summit Meetings.[15]

Dominion of Newfoundland

Prior to becoming a Canadian province in 1949, Newfoundland was a separate British dominion. President Franklin Roosevelt visited there twice. He vacationed at Bay of Islands and Bonne Bay on August 17-20, 1939. Two years later, August 9-12, 1941, he returned to Newfoundland, ostensibly for another vacation. In actuality, he conferred with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard ship (HMS Prince of Wales and USS Augusta) in Placentia Bay. At the conclusion of the conference they issued the Atlantic Charter.[4][16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Presidential visits to Canada". Toronto Sun. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  2. ↑ "Travels of President Warren G. Harding". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  3. ↑ "Warren G. Harding & Stanley Park". The History of Metropolitan Vancouver.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  5. ↑ "Travels of President Harry S. Truman". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  6. 1 2 3 "Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  7. ↑ "Travels of President John F. Kennedy". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  8. 1 2 3 "Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  9. ↑ "Travels of President Richard M. Nixon". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  10. ↑ National Research Council (U.S.); Royal Society of Canada (1985). The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: an evolving instrument for ecosystem management. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. p. 22.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Travels of President Ronald Reagan". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Travels of President George H. W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Travels of President George W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  15. 1 2 "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  16. ↑ Gratwick, Harry (2009). Penobscot Bay: People, Ports & Pastimes. The History Press. p. 72.


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