Joe Biden to visit Canada for first time since becoming U.S. president

U.S. President Joe Biden will be visiting Canada in March, his first trip to this country since becoming president. The official visit was confirmed by officials on both sides of the border on Tuesday, following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

U.S. President Joe Biden will be visiting Canada in March, his first trip to this country since becoming president.

The official visit was confirmed by officials on both sides of the border on Tuesday, following a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Biden at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City.

During that meeting, according to a readout from the Prime Minister's Office, Trudeau invited Biden to Canada. The pair of world leaders also spoke about cross-border trade, competitiveness and supply chains.

Back in 2020 on the heels of their election, MPs unanimously agreed to invite Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris to visit Canada as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic has gotten under control in both countries.

At the time, MPs invited Biden to address Parliament. It remains to be seen whether his itinerary will include an Ottawa address. The last U.S. president to address Canadian parliamentarians was Barack Obama, in June 2016.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump did not make an official visit to Canada during his time in the White House, however he did come for a brief but memorable G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Que. in 2018. This was a marked departure from a customary practice that newly-elected U.S. presidents make a visit north early in their term.

Biden was last in Ottawa on official business when he was the guest of honour at a state dinner in December 2016 -- just weeks before U.S. Trump took office -- where he exclaimed “vive le Canada.”