U.S. President Barack Obama delivers speech to packed, cheering Parliament
Posted Jun 29, 2016 06:26:32 PM.
Last Updated Jun 30, 2016 06:04:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
U-S President Barack Obama was showered with applause in the House of Commons as he passed a diplomatic torch of sorts to Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau in a lengthy speech that touched on many aspects of the Canada-U-S relationship.
Obama spoke for nearly an hour, praising Trudeau and saying Canada and the world will continue to benefit from his leadership even as his own time as president is ending.
He also lauded his host country for championing values like integrity, human rights and fair play, and the only note of discord came when Obama urged Canada to pay its full share to NATO, saying the world and NATO “needs more Canada.”
Obama’s speech was full of the standard jokes about hockey, Canadian celebrities taking over Hollywood, Canada’s weather and the perils of high office — joking that his hair has turned so grey, his wife calls it the “Great White North.”
His speech in the Commons was the first there by a U-S president since Bill Clinton in 1995.
The next time Obama and Trudeau are likely to cross paths is at next month’s NATO summit in Poland.
