WATCH: The leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico don’t seem to be seeing eye-to-eye at their meeting in Mexico City, with visa issues and Keystone XL driving frustrations. Shirlee Engel reports.
TOLUCA, MEXICO, Mexico – They don’t see eye to eye on the major irritant between their two countries, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama projected a bit of genuine warmth at the so-called Three Amigos summit on Wednesday.
It may have been the sunny, high-altitude climes in the scenic Spanish colonial corner of Toluca, the hometown of their host, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Or it may have been the fact that both Harper and Obama had staked out their positions in advance on the divisive Keystone XL pipeline project: the prime minister wants approval, the president wants to respect the approval process.
During their 30-minute private discussion in Mexico, Obama at least appeared to have politely heard out Harper on the TransCanada project.
The president then had affectionate words for Canadians and for Harper, calling him “Stephen” at one point during his remarks after the two leaders strolled through the Cosmo Vital Jardin Botanico, an enormous Toluca greenhouse renowned for its spectacular stained glass windows.
“My brother-in-law is Canadian, so you know I have to love Canadians,” Obama said to laughter.
READ MORE: Keystone XL pipeline dealt setback in Nebraska court
But he added that the fact that Canadian and American men’s and women’s hockey teams are soon facing off in the ongoing Winter Games could cause him to “not feel as warm toward Canadians until the Olympic matches are over.”
Harper echoed Obama’s light-hearted tone during his own brief comments.
“Barack, it’s always great to see you, and I like my brother-in-law too,” Harper said.
Keystone wasn’t mentioned at all publicly, in fact, until a final news conference during which the Canadian media contingent raised it with both Harper and Obama.
The president, as expected, noted that the pipeline was at the mercy of an approval process that he acknowledged Canada might find “a little too laborious.”
“But these are how we make these decisions,” he said.
The president reiterated that how Keystone influences global greenhouse gas emissions would affect the American decision.
Harper countered that his views in favour of the pipeline “are very well known” by Obama.
But he pointed to the recent State Department decision that found the pipeline would not cause a notable increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier, Obama told a business forum that the United States, Canada and Mexico will always have “parochial interests.”
Obama said that the trade between the three countries is part of an integrated supply chain that allows them to sell their products and services around the world.
“We have every incentive to make this work,” Obama said, urging the business audience at the summit to help push for progress.
“If in fact we’re going to continue to build and strengthen … then you can’t just leave it to politicians alone,” he said. “When people understand what this means in terms of job creation a when they hear that from you, it’s that much more persuasive.”
During their meeting, Harper and Obama discussed and strongly condemned the violence taking place on the streets of Ukraine, and discussed issues of shared concern, including the ongoing Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, the global economy, and border infrastructure and security.
The two leaders held their bilateral meeting a few hours after Harper sat down with TransCanada officials in nearby Mexico City – and just as a judge struck down a Nebraska law that allowed the pipeline to proceed through the state.
That ruling that will undoubtedly lead to even further delays for the controversial project.
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