Last month, in a phone call, President Biden's first call with a foreign leader, Justin Trudeau expressed disappointment that the Keystone XL pipeline construction permit was revoked by the new administration.

Canada has often been a USA president's first foreign stop, but the COVID-19 pandemic turned the sit-down between the two leaders and some of their top deputies into a virtual affair.

"We are neighbors. We are friends, as a country".

He said: "How the United States, Europe and Asia work together to secure the peace, and defend our shared values, and advance our prosperity across the Pacific will be among the most consequential efforts we undertake".

After the obligatory jokes about the challenges of learning French - "Every time I tried to speak it, I made such a fool out of myself", Biden was heard to say - the group got down to business.

"U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past, uh, past years".

It is expected to yield a shared document outlining cross-government collaboration on a wide range of issues, a senior USA administration official told reporters. Congresswoman Stefanik strongly urges President Biden to discuss the safe reopening of the northern border with the Prime Minister once again. He said that they "agreed to modernize [NORAD]", "launch an expanded US-Canadian dialogue to cover issues related to continental security, economic and social development and arctic governance".

The Biden White House is reviewing China policy across all fronts, including China's military buildup and trade policies, its actions in Hong Kong, treatment of minority Uighurs in Xinjiang and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Joe Biden declared the "transatlantic alliance is back" Friday in a powerful speech seeking to reestablish the United States as leader of the West against what he called a global assault on democracy.

New COVID Cases Identified Across All Islands
Continuing a trend of slowing covid cases, this was the 11th consecutive day with newly reported cases below 300 in the county. The local health department reported that 8,357 females and 7,679 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

In a separate interview, Environment Minister Wilkinson said combining Canada's clean energy with USA wind, solar and geothermal power was a priority for early talks between the two countries. Trudeau thanked Biden - who has put the United States back into the Paris climate accord on reducing global carbon emissions - for his policies on global warming.

"I think the biggest deliverable from the trip, or from the meeting, is going to be essentially... a roadmap to reinvigorate US-Canada collaboration", the official said Monday.

Biden has recommitted the U.S.to the Paris climate agreement, after former President Donald Trump announced it would withdraw from the worldwide pact four years ago. Canada is now enforcing further restrictions at the U.S.

"Thank you again for stepping up in such a big way on tackling climate change - USA leadership has been sorely missed over the past years", Trudeau said to Biden. Criticism of China continues under new US President Biden, but the tone has softened. The officials did add that the USA government understands that it will not defeat the virus without help from Canada and Mexico and hope to work out "a framework for co-operation" during the meeting.

Though the two leaders are expected to discuss cross-border energy projects, including the troubled Keystone XL pipeline, the USA officials said that the project is all but dead, indicating Biden's decision to revoke the Keystone XL permit "will not be reconsidered".

The two were detained in China in an apparent act of retaliation after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 on USA charges of violating sanctions on Iran. One area Biden and Trudeau did not comment on in the public portion of their remarks was the USA decision to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, a project fiercely opposed by environmentalists but backed by Ottawa and previously by Trump.

But Biden made no mention of Washington's opposition to the Germany-Russia joint Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and steered away from criticizing Germany and others for failing to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence spending goals.

The return to "normal" highlights just how much Canada's well-being depends on friendly relations south of the border, and the personal inclinations of whoever happens to occupy America's highest office.