Canada’s 20th Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, started an official visit to Washington on this date in 1997. One of the highlights of the PM’s trip was the State Dinner in his honour hosted by his friend from Arkansas, President Bill Clinton.
“Under his leadership,” Clinton said during his toast, “relations between our two nations are stronger and better than ever. Of course, close neighbors sometimes disagree. Family members sometimes disagree. But united by democratic values and our long border and rich friendship, we've always found a way to work through those disagreements with patience and mutual respect.”
You watch a video of the State Dinner toasts at the following link: https://www.c-span.org/video/?80240-1/us-canada-dinner-toasts
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.