The flowery tributes will be laid on thick and our undefended border hailed as a unique miracle in a fracturing democratic world amid pledges of eternal friendship as glasses filled with Canadian wine are clinked at the state dinner.
to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop.
But it will be a warm Canadian welcome thanks to three simple words. He. Isnāt. Trump.
Still, several unrelated developments suggest our U.S. connection may be in need of some damage control just as much as relation celebration.
For starters there was Biden this week opening up northern Alaska reserves to oil production, which will be carried by pipeline right down the middle of Americaās last wilderness frontier. It was the action of a president throwing his environmental credentials under the political bus.
CRICKETS FROM BIDEN
But wait a minute. Isnāt this the same Biden who vetoed a far less-riskier mostly-built Keystone pipeline from Canada as his first act of presidential business?
And, lest we forget, itās the same president seemingly on silent standby as Michiganās governor aims to kibosh the Line 5 pipeline running under Great Lakes in clear violation of an international energy treaty Biden is charged with enforcing.
So far, as the fight to keep the pipeline flowing plods through U.S. courts, itās crickets from Biden.
For more negative Biden fallout on Canada, just wait for the federal budget later this month.
Bidenās Inflation Reduction Act is a $375-billion bag of supersized carrots dangled in front of investors to lure their renewable electricity generation and hydrogen production interests inside protectionist America.
Itās a commendable goal and all, but it also flips the kill switch on promising Canadian investments in similar ventures.
Thatās why Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will struggle to rein in the deficit while rolling out hefty inducements to keep our environmental infrastructure investments from disappearing into that giant sucking sound of U.S. subsidies.
And, finally, Biden is the president who didnāt give Canada even a sideways glance
A BIDEN SNUB?
You couldāve called it a Biden snub except itās an agreement largely rooted in nuclear submarines and weāre a country seemingly satisfied with just four Victoria-class submarines that were outdated and dented when purchased second-hand from Britain in 1998.
But military experts point out thereās technology-sharing involved in the agreement, which mightāve given Canada, if it was allowed into the club, given a modern upgrade to our sorry state of submarine readiness.
So if Biden is blocking cross-border energy, stealing green investments and blackballing Canada from a military partnership, what will he bring to Ottawa besides his pyjamas and address-to-Parliament speaking notes?
Well, heās coming here to arm-twist Canada to take a leadership role by deploying forces to restore order to gang-run Haiti, a mission that could ensnare Canada in a failed-state quagmire of ruthless violence. In other words, he wants us to front a no-win scenario. We should say no.
He might want to discuss Chinese security and election interference concerns but, with Trudeau in denial that the problem rates serious cyber-security investments, sworn testimony from his chief of staff or a formal inquiry, it will be a brief conversation.
'MEH' LEVEL OF CROSS-BORDER CORDIALITY
He will discuss Ukraine, but Canada is already offering what limited military assistance can be spared from an armed forces with very little surplus in soldier capacity or modern equipment.
And Biden will offer to do nothing to stop the flood of asylum-seekers being bussed to the Quebec border for a hop-over into the warm arms of Canadaās welfare state, a dynamic that will continue until there are changes in a border treaty Biden has no interest in altering.
Letās face it. The connection has not gone cold but weāre at a āmehā level of cross-border cordiality. This visit feels more like a checked-box obligation than celebration.
We may be Americaās largest trading partner but Canada clearly ranks as an afterthought for Biden and thereās little sign he shares an Obama-class bromance with Trudeau, a prime minister he probably sees as a lightweight leader on the world stage.
But hopefully this visit will replace what seems to be Bidenās only Canadian memory, that being when he was honoured with a state dinner during his 2016 farewell tour as Obamaās vice president.
And perhaps we should be grateful he wonāt follow the departing script of the last U.S. presidential visit to Canada -- when a furious from Air Force One even before he left Canadian airspace.
Thatās the bottom lineā¦
