Following in Obama’s meeting on Parliament Hill for Thursday, a news conference was held with both leaders, broadcast on CBC (in both regular and high definition).

“Two of my key staff people hail from Canada, and I love this country” said Obama, in what was likely the most prominent statement to Canadians - this statement, following in a seemingly planned response to Harper being unwilling to use such language near the beginning of his term as Prime Minister. A number of Canadian reporters claimed immediately after the report that they were “caught by surprise” by the statement, raising a fury of comments and excitement nationwide.

A number of issues were raised at the conference, targeting the issues which analysts expected to be covered at the meetings for the 6 hours prior, including a heavy focus on environmental and economic recovery discussions - marked specifically by the agreement to a form a long-term “clean energy dialogue” - discussions about GM and Chrysler, and a sharp pointed address of the “Buy American” provision seen in the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Harper, when asked about how the two countries would unify and coordinate their environmental discussed the unity that already exists between targets in terms of intensity targets and absolute targets (which, he claimed were “effectively the same”) and the technologies that exist in terms of carbon capture and storage. Additionally, the two leaders were proud to report the creation of a timely unified clean energy dialogue, planning to “improve the electricity grid between the United States and Canada” to maximize sharing of clean energy.

Harper addressed the topic of Canada being too small of a country to effectively implement a successful environmental policy without the support and assistance of it’s neighbors and partners in terms of both establishment and targets.

Obama responded to environmental questions with a superfluous response about being grateful to Canada for being the United States’ largest foreign energy supplier, and discussing the effect of climate change on “our children and families.” “Right now there are no silver bullets to solve all of our [clean] energy problems,” said the President.

There will be an international climate change conference in Copenhagen in December of this year, hosted by the United Nations.

President Obama focused heavily on the importance of sharing research and development in clean energy internationally over the next decade.

“No country on Earth is not interested and concerned with balancing and dealing with this issue on an environmental side,” said Obama careful to add a focus on the current financial crisis and international recession, saying it would be important to “make sure” that these efforts “don’t have an adverse effect on economic growth and employment” short-term.

A Wall Street Journal reporter asked Harper a question about the ‘Buy American’ provision mixed in to a range of other economic questions - Obama jumped on it, addressing that prior to passing the bill the Obama administration noted it would be important to assure that any provisions in the bill were both NAFTA and WTO complaint. He also recognized Canadian concerns, saying that the stimulus package and all of Obama’s political movements were designed to grow trade, not contract it - nothing in the recovery package is averse to this goal, according to the President.

Harper responded to the question with a response that felt somewhat like an attack at the Buy American provisions, saying that trade agreements with the United States have been nothing but beneficial, agreeing that some aspects of trade “invariable cause political concerns,” but going on to say that “no one should think for a minute that any level of trade between Canada and the United States is anything but a benefit.”

He went on to say that economic stimulus measures in Canada are not designed “just to stimulate our own economy” but rather to assist in the international recovery from a “synchronized global recession,” and that one of the things the Canadian stimulus package addresses is the removal of duties on many imported goods to stimulate continental and global trade.

Speaking of the importance of the $1.5 billion in trade going across the border every day, and the intertwine of Canadian and United States industry, Obama discussed the intense restructuring planned within the United States automotive industry, and the review of forward-moving business plans for both GM and Chrysler.

Harper went ahead to speak of the size of Canadian and U.S. stimulus packages, conceding that the Canadian package is smaller than the United States - even per capita - saying that the economic problems were smaller in Canada than the United States.

Moving on to border security, the Prime Minister discussed the adjustments Canada has made to border security since 9/11 - making a number of statements which rejected what appears to be a general American consensus that Canadians are not serious about border security. Obama underlined and highlighted these statements by agreeing with the forward moving aspects of Canadian security, and a general focus on the fact that no terrorists have been reported to cross the U.S.-Canada border to attack the United States; despite rumors to the opposite regarding 9/11.

“Threats to the United States are a threat to Canada. We as Canadians have every incentive to be as cooperative and alarmed about national security threats as the United States,” said the Prime Minister.


Obama in closing thanked Canadians for support in his election, and said he’ll be back when it ‘warms up.’

Obama will be meeting with Michael Ignatieff for about 15 minutes prior to leaving Canada in less than an hour - marking a relatively short, and high-security meeting. Ignatieff released that he would like to discuss trade and border security and “thickness” with the President.

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