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 Obama will host Trudeau, the Liberal Party leader who took office
in November, for an Oval Office meeting where they will talk about
curbing climate emissions from oil and gas fields - a dramatic shift
from years of debate over building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a
project Obama blocked last year.
Also on the agenda are plans to expedite travel and trade between
the two countries, and shared areas of global concern ranging from
Syria to Ukraine.
"We are two countries that are, in every sense of the word,
inseparable," Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, told
Reuters.
The leaders are slated to hold a news conference at 11:40 a.m. (1640
GMT) in the Rose Garden.
Later, they will toast each other at a lavish state dinner planned
with a theme of "Anticipation of Spring," a feeling close to the
hearts of Canadians, who endure long and harsh winters.
The dinner will feature Colorado lamb, sidestepping what could have
been the awkward optics of a beef dish.
Canada won a World Trade Organization case last year against a U.S.
meat-labeling law for beef and pork. The law was repealed in
December, and the White House hopes that Canada formally ends its
lawsuit.
Trudeau, who is struggling at home with a soft economy and weak
Canadian dollar, campaigned on repairing strained ties. "Few
relationships matter as much to Canada as a good relationship with
the United States of America, for jobs, for economic growth, for
trade purposes, and building the kinds of opportunities for
Canadians right across the country that we truly need," he said on
Wednesday before leaving for Washington.
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Americans have been captivated by the photogenic Trudeau, 44, whose
father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister from 1968 through 1979,
and again from 1980 to 1984.
But his visit may be overshadowed by the raucous race to succeed
Obama in the Nov. 8 presidential election. Candidates on both the
left and the right have taken anti-trade positions.
Obama hopes to convince a reluctant U.S. Congress to ratify the
sprawling Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact before he leaves
office in January. Canada is also wrestling with the merits of the
TPP.
(Writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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