Prime Ministers and Presidents Part Four

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29 December 2011

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Prime Ministers and

Presidents Part Four

From the bad feelings of the Bush years

to the warmth of the Barack Obama presidency

Prime Minister Paul Martin sent out signals that he had more harmony and a closer friendship on his mind than Mr. Chretien had. But, it was a tough file to manage.

The Bush administration went about its activities in a completely different way from its predecessors, one that didn’t fit well with Canada’s approach.

White House Photo by Paul Morse

Prime Minister Paul Martin (left) and U.S. President George W. Bush answer questions at a White House press conference in April 2004.

Engaging the Superpower

As a middle-sized power, Canada cannot have a lot of influence over the U.S. on its own. So, Ottawa’s strategy has always been to engage Washington alongside groups of many nations; using the strength of numbers to balance the overwhelming muscle of the superpower.

Mr. Bush and his advisers didn’t much like this approach. Why would they? It hobbles them.

In 2002, Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson described how Mr. Bush liked to “define U.S. interests first, pursue them by means determined exclusively by Americans, then let the rest of the world decide how to respond (and not especially care what that response would be).”

So the U.S. behaved like the world’s only superpower - which it was. The downside of this was that when it needed friends it had trouble finding any.

As the disaster of its own making unfolded in Iraq allies started to pull out, and Mr. Bush became, at home and abroad, the most disliked American president for many years.

Dealing with Unpopular Bush

In May 2004, Canada’s new prime minister, Paul Martin, paid a visit to the White House. The buzz was good. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the media that relations could hardly be better.

President Bush extended an invitation to Mr. Martin to visit with him on his ranch in Crawford, Texas; an offer made only to the most highly favoured world leaders, and one that Jean Chretien never received.

But, as with all prime ministers, Paul Martin had to be careful not to get too cozy with his Washington counterpart. Most Canadians don’t like their leaders to be too friendly with U.S. presidents. In the case of George W. Bush this was particularly so.

An Environics poll in the summer of 2003, found Mr. Bush to be the most unpopular American president in recent memory among Canadians.

Of those surveyed, 62 percent said they had an unfavourable opinion of Mr. Bush; this included 37 percent who said they had a “very unfavourable” impression of the U.S. Leader.

A Maclean’s magazine poll in 2004 found that if Canadians could have voted in the U.S. presidential election of that year only 15 percent would have picked George Bush.

Stephen Harper Warms up Relations

Stephen Harper became Canada’s prime minister in February 2006 with George Bush still having almost three years left in his presidency.

Ideologically, Mr. Harper was closer to President Bush than either of the two previous prime ministers had been.

In a March 2011 article in Policy Options it was noted that, “Harper has embraced a more Bush-style foreign policy approach, standing on principle even at the cost of popularity in the United Nations, particularly in his unstinting support of Israel. And Harper has stood by the United States with the same ferocity with which Mulroney stood by Reagan.”

Mr. Harper had also, as Leader of the Opposition, supported the American decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

However, this closeness to a highly disliked U.S. president did not hurt Mr. Harper.

The Barack Obama Era

With the election of Democrat Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency in 2008 there were hopes that the bad feelings that sometimes characterized the Bush years were over.

This proved to be the case.

President Obama chose Canada for his first official foreign visit after his inauguration.

White House Photo by Pete Souza

The official photo-op image of President Obama (left) meeting Prime Minister Harper for the first time.

On a cold February 19, 2009, Mr. Obama got a very warm welcome from Canadians and their prime minister.

As BBC News reported “Busloads of Obama supporters went to Ottawa, hoping for a glimpse of the president, in contrast to the thousands of protesters who descended on the capital for President George W Bush's visit in 2004.

“Mr Obama is very popular in Canada: 66% of Canadians wanted him to be president, according to a Gallup opinion poll.”

According to CBC News the two leaders pledged to work “together to restore economic growth, a new initiative on environmental protection, and a commitment to stabilize Afghanistan.”

Since then, of course, the economies of both countries have continued to sputter, Canada has pulled out of the Kyoto Accord on global warming measures, and the last Canadian combat troops have been withdrawn from Afghanistan.

But the two leaders appear to get along very well. In press conferences following subsequent meetings they have referred to each other as “Stephen” and “Barack,” and the body language suggests a personal friendship.

As John Ibbitson noted in a Globe and Mail column (December 2011) “in their 11 official meetings – not to mention numerous phone calls and informal exchanges on the edges of summits – the Canadian Prime Minister and the American President have gotten to like each other.”

Resources consulted for this series

“Continental Divide.” CBC News.

“Canadian American Relations.” Canadian Encyclopedia.

“U.S. Presidents and Canadian Prime Ministers: Good Vibes or not.” Gil Troy and L. Ian MacDonald, Policy Options, March 2011.

“The Presidents and the Prime Ministers.” Lawrence Martin, Doubleday Canada, 1982.

Return to Part Three

Canada and the United States are the world’s largest trading partners, with about $1.5 billion-worth of goods crossing the border each day.

“A threat to the United States is a threat to Canada, to our trade, to our interests, to our values and to our common civilization.

“Canada has no friends among America’s enemies. And America has no better friend than Canada.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper 2006

BEYOND THE BORDER

Canadians make 40 million trips across the U.S. border every year. In addition, trade flows across the line to the value of $1 million a minute.

However, since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 security has been tightened and border crossing has been more difficult.

In December 2011, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced the Beyond the Border Action Plan.

The main contents of the plan were outlined in an article in the Winnipeg Free Press (December 2011): “The key areas of co-operation laid out in the plan would create new integrated programs to enhance security (by addressing threats early, improving cross-border law enforcement and developing new infrastructure and cyber-security capacities) and to facilitate trade, economic growth and job creation (by improving border management).”

A United States-Canada Regulatory Co-operation Council is to be set up to improve coordination and harmonize regulations between the two countries.

SOOTHING WORDS

On his first visit to Canada in 2009 Mr. Obama said: “I love this country and I think that we could not have a better friend and ally.”

Canadians loved it.

But, it turns out that President Obama is generous with his affections. Some quotes:

“Korea is one of America’s closest allies and greatest friends.” April 2009.

“…The United States has no closer ally and stronger partner than Great Britain.” July 2010.

“We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy and the French people.” January 2011.

“The U.S. has no stronger ally than Australia.” November 2011.