U.S. President Joe Biden’s Canada visit dates set
Posted March 9, 2023 1:15 pm.
Last Updated March 9, 2023 1:26 pm.
We now know when U.S. President Joe Biden will make his way to Canada for his long-awaited visit.
Biden is set to travel to Ottawa on March 23 for two days. It isn’t often a president stays overnight in Canada while on a state visit.
This will mark the 80-year-old’s first in-person visit to the country since he took office in 2021.
He plans to focus on the important bilateral relationship of the countries, with Canada among the United States’ biggest trading partners, as well as a key defense ally.
When he sits down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the White House says Biden will discuss issues like defence cooperation, upgrading NORAD, climate change, and other regional challenges.
“They will also discuss ongoing efforts to support Ukraine, to increase the costs to Russia and those supporting its war effort, and to counter the negative impacts of the war on the rest of the world,” a statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reads.
In addition, addressing the “synthetic opioid crisis that has devastated both countries” is also on the agenda.
The White House confirmed earlier this year that Biden would be making the trip north some time in March. That came after he and Trudeau sat down for a meeting on the sidelines of the “Three Amigos” summit in Mexico City.
Canada is normally one of the first foreign trips for a new president. However, Biden’s visit has been delayed, in part due to COVID-19.
-With files from The Canadian Press
