Biden is coming to Canada: Here’s what we know about his visit

U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited official visit to Canada.

During his stay in the nation’s capital, Biden will meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and deliver an address to Parliament on Friday. But, he and first lady of the United States Jill Biden have some other events on their itineraries, where key Canada-U.S. issues and shared priorities will be discussed.

With many layers of preparation underway—from major security precautions and an increased presence of police and North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) aircraft, to extensive road closures—Biden’s brief trip will be a significant event in the cross-border relationship.

Here’s what we’ve confirmed with senior government officials about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.

THURSDAY, MARCH 23: BIDEN ARRIVES

The Bidens and the delegation travelling with the president will be landing in Ottawa on Air Force One on Thursday evening, currently scheduled for around 6:25 p.m.

There, Biden will be greeted by a welcoming delegation of Canadian officials:

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  Gov. Gen. Mary Simon
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  Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman
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  Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland
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  Treasury Board President Mona Fortier
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  Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly
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  And, foreign affairs parliamentary secretaries, Liberal MPs Rob Oliphant and Maninder Sidhu

Upon his arrival, Biden will meet with the governor general inside the Canada Reception Centre at the Ottawa Airport. Simon’s husband Whit Fraser and the first lady will be part of this meeting.

Then, Biden will be taken—likely in his infamous armoured limousine known as ‘The Beast’—to Rideau Cottage to meet with Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. Rideau Cottage is the prime minister’s current residence, located on the grounds at Rideau Hall, approximately seven kilometres northeast of Parliament Hill.

There, according to a senior Canadian government source, the two couples will “have an informal meeting.”

FRIDAY, MARCH 24: BIDEN’S BIG DAY

Friday is the main day of Biden’s visit, and it’s largely going to be spent on Parliament Hill.

Before diving into that, just a note: The first lady is going to have her own itinerary on Friday. While she will attend the address to Parliament, she is expected to participate in other events during the day, potentially alongside Gregoire-Trudeau, but the details of what they’ll get up to have yet to be shared.

Kicking off with a welcoming ceremony inside West Block, the temporary home of the House of Commons, Biden will be greeted by a welcoming party that includes the speakers of the House and Senate, and representatives from the opposition parties.

He will then have a bilateral meeting with Trudeau, followed by an extended meeting with ministers, expected to take place in the room where cabinet usually meets.

It’s likely that whomever is travelling with Biden, officials-wise, would likely also take part.

The Canadian ministers accompanying Trudeau on Friday will be Freeland, Joly, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion Mary Ng, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, and Defence Minister Anita Anand.

All of this will happen in the morning, before Biden’s speech to Parliament, which is expected to begin mid-afternoon. It’s customary for formal addresses from world leaders to include introductory and concluding remarks from parliamentary officials, and for the chamber to be filled with senators, dignitaries, and other key stakeholders or community members with relevant ties to whomever is speaking.

Following his address—we’ll see how long it is, Obama’s in 2016 was approximately 50 minutes—Biden and Trudeau will make their way across the street from Parliament Hill, to the Sir John A Macdonald building, for a joint media availability.

There, reporters from the parliamentary press gallery and those travelling from the White House press pool will be able to ask Biden and Trudeau about what was accomplished by the visit and whether there will be any concrete wins or policy moves made as a result.

Rounding out his day, Biden, the first lady and the American delegation will attend a formal dinner hosted by Trudeau and his wife, that “a few hundred” guests are set to attend. That’s happening at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, approximately 11 kilometres east of Parliament Hill.

On the invite list: ambassadors past and present, business leaders, members of Parliament, senators, and representatives of Indigenous groups.

“It’ll be a real cross-section of Canada,” said one senior Canadian government official briefing reporters on a not-for-attribution basis about the trip.

So far neither the White House nor the Prime Minister’s Office have confirmed if there will be any impromptu stops during the trip, meaning we’ll all have to wait and see whether there will be another ‘Obama cookie’ moment — when then-U.S. President Barack Obama popped into a bakery in the Byward Market during his 2009 trip. 

While the not-quite two-day trip may seem condensed, Trudeau officials told reporters that they are pleased with the amount of time Biden and Trudeau will have together, while noting that on his past trips, Obama did not stay overnight.

“One of our primary goals of the visit was hoping to be able to share as much time as possible between the two leaders. And that’s why we are very happy that president Biden is spending a day and half in Ottawa, which allows three different blocks for the prime minister and the president to spend time together… And that’s actually quite a lot of time, several hours where they can cover all the issues they need to cover,” said one senior government official.

Speaking to media in the U.S. on Wednesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there is a lot the two leaders have to talk about.

“Canada, as you know, is not only a neighbour to the north, but a NATO ally. The president and prime minister Trudeau have a terrific relationship. He’s looking forward to getting up there. There are a range of issues that you can imagine they’ll talk about, everything from Norad, and modernization of Norad capabilities… military, and national security issues… Migration concerns, climate change. There’ll be certainly issues of trade to discuss. There’s a lot,” Kirby said.

WHAT ARE THE BIG ISSUES SET TO COME UP?

Without diving into the nitty gritty of all the outstanding trade, economic, and cross-border irritants that could come up during the visit, the broad stroke topics that Canadian officials say will be discussed during the visit include:

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  North American continental and Arctic defence and related spending
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  Trade, supply chains, and the state of CUSMA/USMCA
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  Irregular migration and modernizing the Safe Third Country Agreement
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  Climate change and investing in the clean automotive sector
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  Addressing inflation and driving growth to create jobs
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  Threats to democracy such as domestic and foreign interference
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  Further support for Haiti and Ukraine

It remains to be seen how substantive of progress will be made on these issues, but typically visits of this sort conclude with some form of joint statement outlining any commitments made.

“The Canada-U.S. partnership is forged by shared geography, similar values, common interests, deep personal connections, and powerful economic ties that are critical for so many jobs and businesses in both of our countries,” said a senior Canadian government official.

“Throughout the day, the prime minister will highlight Canada’s partnership as a source of strength to the United States and our commitment to working closely together on the big serious challenges that we both face, as well as the world faces,” the official said.

WHAT ARE KEY PLAYERS SAYING ABOUT THE TRIP?

Ahead of the visit, Trudeau, federal cabinet ministers and the leaders of the opposition parties have been outlining their expectations for the visit. Here’s some of what they’ve had to say.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

“We’re going to be talking about a lot of things. We will of course be talking about China, but the centre of our conversations will be about jobs and growth, critical minerals and fighting climate change, and continuing to build an economy across our continent that works for all of our citizens… I think the big message is just going to be how we can, and will be working together,” Trudeau said on his way into a Wednesday caucus meeting.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre:

“We all know that President Biden is coming this week to visit Canada. Our demands as Conservatives are very reasonable…. We want an end to softwood lumber tariffs so that our forestry workers can get bigger, more powerful, inflation-proof paycheques… We want an end to ‘Buy-America’ so that our construction workers get powerful paycheques … We want an end to the illegal border crossings at Roxham Road, and across the country… We will stand with the Americans for a stronger military and stronger continental defense to keep all of our people safe,” Poilievre said on his way into a Wednesday caucus meeting.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser:

“Our focus right now is trying to solve a problem and provide a lasting solution. Of course, I expect that there is going to be a lot of attention on all issues tied to the Canada-U.S. relationship, but my focus right now is on solving a challenge for the long-term… The precise nature of how we can help address the issue of irregular migration more broadly is something that we still have some work to do to sort out finally,” Fraser said on his way into a Wednesday caucus meeting about the Safe Third Country Agreement and the issues at Roxham Road.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh:

“The number one concern we have is about the approach of the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the ‘buy-American’ provisions… We are deeply concerned that the connection between Canada and America is so – we’re so interlinked that a ‘Buy-American’ provision for infrastructure could mean a serious negative blow to producers in Canada, to workers in Canada. And we want to make sure it’s a North American approach as opposed to a ‘Buy-American’ approach… We also want to see that Canada responds to the Inflation Reduction Act with real incentives in Canada to encourage and create jobs here to reduce our emissions and ensure there’s good paying jobs