United States Presidential Visits To Canada
Visits by the President of the United States to Canada have been a part of Canada – United States relations since the early twentieth century.
Presidential visits can be purely political or highly ceremonial, because the president of the United States is both head of state and head of government. The representative of Canada who will host the president depends on the nature of the visit. It may be an official state visit – wherein he is hosted by the Canadian monarch or governor general and participates in ceremonial events – or a working visit, which may or may not include a meeting with the Canadian head of state, and focuses mostly on government business, such as discussions with the prime minister.
Until the 20th century, the sitting US President did not travel abroad. After Woodrow Wilson's trip to attend the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, however, the presidents began to undertake more foreign visits. Since that time, Canada has become one of the most common destinations for the US leader; only a few presidents have neglected to make the trip, such as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and of the 46 foreign dignitaries to have addressed a joint session of the Canadian parliament, six have been US presidents, with Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower both speaking twice. It has now become tradition that the first foreign visit made by a US president should be to Canada; since 1981 all presidents (except George W. Bush who visited Mexico before visiting Canada) have chosen the country's northern neighbour as their first international trip.
Read more about United States Presidential Visits To Canada: Visits By President, See Also
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