US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted improved US-Canadian relations at a White House state dinner on 10 March. By staging a lavish welcome for Trudeau, Obama turned the page on years of shaky ties with Canada, making clear the new leader is a man after his own heart.

Obama said both countries shared the ideal that if you worked hard you could do anything. Obama then asked, "Where else could a boy born in Calgary grow up to run for president of the United States?", a joke about Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's birthplace.

Trudeau, 44, the left-leaning Liberal Party leader who took power in November 2015, thanked Obama for working to improve US-Canadian relations, including trade. Trudeau joked that one of Canada's biggest exports was Justin Bieber saying, "but of course, leave it to Canadian to reach international fame with a song called 'Sorry'".

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