Diplomacy With Our Northern Neighbors

Geography, history, and friendship have been the driving force of official ties between the United States and Canada. In 1927, our two countries exchanged ambassadors and began a long diplomatic relationship. The first official State Dinner was held on December 6, 1927, with President and Mrs. Coolidge and Canada’s Governor General Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, and Viscountess Willingdon of Canada. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his 2016 State Visit to the White House, like his father before him, we reflect on the history, food, and protocol of official foreign visits by Canadian heads of state to the Executive Mansion.