Joe Biden was welcomed to Canada on Friday for his first official visit to the country, which led to an agreement on irregular immigration, a delicate subject at the moment between the two neighbors and allies. “It’s a great pleasure to have a great friend here,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the start of a bilateral meeting in the precincts of Parliament in Ottawa.
The American president was then applauded several times during his speech to Canadian parliamentarians, in particular when he praised the commitment of the two countries to support Ukraine. The United States and Canada, he said, are “two peoples” who share “one heart.” And “in case of disagreement”, they endeavor to solve their problems “with friendship and good will”.
The 80-year-old Democrat, between two jokes about hockey and the failure of his few years of learning French, has also announced an agreement on one of these sticking points: irregular immigration. Washington and Ottawa will “work together to discourage illegal crossings” of their shared border, a hotly debated topic in Canadian politics right now.
The US president also “welcomed” a commitment by Canada to regularly welcome an additional 15,000 migrants from across the Americas. Behind this announcement, the question of “Roxham Road”: a makeshift route by which approximately 40,000 migrants arrived from the United States in Quebec last year, bypassing official entry points. .
Its closure is already worrying migrant aid organizations. “The impact on refugees in extreme danger is devastating. The result will be to push people either to attempt even more dangerous crossings in remote areas, or push them towards smugglers,” Amnesty International’s Julia Sande told AFP. The large numbers of arrivals last year have sparked heated political debate in Canada.
The subject is also topical in the United States, in quite different proportions. In January, US authorities made more than 128,000 arrests for attempts to illegally enter US territory from Mexico, and the right-wing opposition is not missing an opportunity to accuse Joe Biden of laxity in the matter .
Another topic of discussion was Haiti, in the throes of extreme violence and a serious humanitarian crisis. A Canadian government source told AFP that he was expecting a “significant funding” announcement on Friday, possibly during Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau’s upcoming press conference on humanitarian aid and the training of security forces. the Haitian order. The United States would also welcome Canada playing a leading role in sending an international force to the Caribbean country.
Military spending is also up for debate, as Washington pushes for an effort by NATO members amid war in Ukraine and rising tensions with China. Ottawa is far from devoting 2% of its gross domestic product to its defense budget, the threshold set for the countries of the transatlantic alliance. The United States also wants a modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad).
Finally, the economy is an essential subject for the two neighbours. Justin Trudeau, whose country is the United States’ largest foreign trade customer, told parliament on Friday: “We will continue to work together to create jobs, build healthier and more sustainable economies and societies. . The Canadian government source said he expects announcements on semiconductors and strengthening supply chains in North America at the joint press conference.
