Mr. President Goes to Ottawa

Home · Politics · International Politics · Mr. President Goes to Ottawa

Topic spans: 1947 - 2009

Mr. President Goes to Ottawa

He is the most important leader in the world. And even though the country may not always like what they hear, when the president of the United States comes to Ottawa, Canada listens. From Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, U.S. presidents have been given the honour of addressing Canada's Parliament. Sometimes their speeches draw warm ovations; others are met by catcalls and anger. But over time, each presidential message has been an important indicator of the goodwill — and the problems — facing these neighbours.

Topic photo of William Lyon Mackenzie King and Harry Truman in Ottawa courtesy National Film Board of Canada. Phototheque / Library and Archives Canada / PA-113240

20 television clips

3 radio clips

You must sign in to leave a comment on this clip.

No comments

Bush cancels address due to Iraq War

Broadcast Date: April 14, 2003

President George W. Bush isn't coming to Ottawa any time soon. The president says he is too busy with the war in Iraq to address a joint session of Parliament planned for May 5, 2003. U.S. officials insist the cancellation was a mutual decision made because of the war. Others speculate there's another reason the president can't keep his appointment.

"It's an obvious deletion," Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says in this CBC Television report confirming the cancellation.

Relations between Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the U.S. president recently became tense. The two leaders haven't spoken since Ottawa refused to join a war coalition against Iraq because the attack was not sanctioned by the United Nations. Klein believes Canada's refusal has contributed to the cancellation. Suspicion arose when President Bush scheduled a new meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, an ally of the American led invasion of Iraq.

Prime Minister Howard was invited to meet the President at his Texas ranch just two days before the cancelled address was scheduled to take place in Ottawa.

Bush cancels address due to Iraq War

• It takes longer to travel from the White House to President Bush's Texas ranch than it does from the White House to Ottawa.
• Besides addressing a joint session in the House of Commons, President Bush and Prime Minister Chrétien had intended to hold talks on energy.
• The prime minister denied speculation that President Bush cancelled his trip because Canada refused to join the war coalition. He insisted it was because the president was too busy with the war.

• Upon cancellation, the president did not reschedule another date with the prime minister to address the House of Commons.
• The trip would have been Bush's first state visit to Canada.
• Bush was elected governor of Texas in 1994 and served six years. He was the first Texas governor to win two consecutive terms.
• George W. Bush was elected the 43rd U.S. president in 2000.

Bush cancels address due to Iraq War

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: April 14, 2003

Guest(s): Ralph Klein, John Manley

Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Eric Sorensen

Duration: 2:43

Last updated:
Sept. 17, 2007

End of list