There are several shades of irony of George W. Bush taking his first non-U.S. visit to Canada. Bush is scheduled to give a speech in Calgary on March 17. The speech is not open to the public.
Bush could not be convinced to make an official visit to the country during the first four years he served as president, going against strong tradition. For example, President Barack Obama will make his first visit to Canada within a month of his inauguration.
Also, Bush may be limited in where he can travel, given speculation that in some countries, he could be arrested for war crimes. Canada is not one of those countries.
Calgary, in the province of Alberta, is about as pro-Bush a place as he will find in that country. The city is the core of the Conservative Party in Canada.
The other irony is that Bush has likely never been to Calgary before. His limited trips has centered around Ottawa, and on those visits, and any he possibly made before 2001, would have required a waiver for his DUI conviction.
The people running the speech seem to have great faith that Bush will get this waiver, though Bill Ayres recently was not allowed into Canada. Other left-wing protestors have also been banned from entering the country.
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