Canada and the U.S. are in couples therapy, and it’s going well

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and still-fresh U.S. President Joe Biden held their first bilateral meeting by video conference on Tuesday.

Many of the key topics discussed found Trudeau and Biden very much on the same page: ending the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery — specifically “supporting hard-hit small and medium-sized businesses and creating good middle class jobs, especially for women and young people” — pushing back against climate change and combatting systemic racism.

On the flipside, the issue of Biden’s Buy American rules was raised by Trudeau, but the conversation is “ongoing,” and while the PMO press release about the meeting speaks of a “bilateral energy relationship,” whether or not the Keystone XL pipeline (or any pipeline) was mentioned remains unknown. Following the meeting, Biden released a statement in support of the two Michaels currently detained in China, and the issue of China’s treatment of its Uighur Muslims was discussed but the report contained nothing more specific on the matter than the fact that the U.S. and Canada are “continuing to work in a coordinated way with allies.”

The overlying focus of the meeting, according to the press release, was “(solidifying) the deep and enduring friendship between Canada and the United States by committing to an ambitious roadmap to revitalize and expand this historic relationship.”

Like many countries around the world, Canada and the US are facing incredible challenges – from COVID-19, to climate change, to rising inequality. This is our time to act together. And that is what @POTUS Biden and I focused on today. More here: https://t.co/hoasKODKaA pic.twitter.com/ALl96cE2P1

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 24, 2021

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