Michelle Obama and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau attend dinner with husbands.

March 10, 2016 5:51 PM

A State Dinner between Canada and the United States is underway in Washington DC.

The menu is said to include Alaskan Halibut "Casseroles", Baby Lamb Chops, and Butterscotch Ice Cream.

The guest list includes seasoned Canadian cultural ambassadors such as Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Oh

This is the first state dinner between Canada and the USA since Hillary Clinton and Aline Chrétien brought their husbands to dinner in 1997.

posted by mrjohnmuller (64 comments total)

When the great ice war comes, we shall remember these as the last of the good days between our peoples.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:55 PM on March 10, 2016 [12 favorites]

I was surprised it's been 20 years since the last time Canada was invited to state dinner, but I guess you HAVE to have a state dinner when China comes over but with Canada you can just pick up some pizza and have a casual hang because you're always hanging out anyway.

(Plus even the world's closest diplomatic ties, longest undefended border, and largest bilateral trade relationship can't get Stephen Harper invited to dinner.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:56 PM on March 10, 2016 [30 favorites]

Justin Trudeau is the coolest man ever to lead Canada.
posted by Talez at 5:58 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

. . . can't get Stephen Harper invited to dinner

Perhaps if he changes his name to "Calgary International Airport"
posted by Zonker at 5:59 PM on March 10, 2016 [11 favorites]

I'm just imagining my PinterestFail version of Susan Morrison's amazing looking Rocky Mountain landscape treat things.
posted by gatorae at 6:01 PM on March 10, 2016

Baby lamb chops? As opposed to middle-aged lamb chops?
posted by Biblio at 6:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [6 favorites]

I took that to mean that the lambs were born earlier this evening, possibly just outside the kitchen.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 6:10 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

Of note: Gary Bettman (NHL) and Adam Silver (NBA) are in, Rob Manfred (baseball) isn't. (Roger Goodell delenda est but he wouldn't make sense because the NFL doesn't have a franchise in Canada, the American League does.)
posted by graymouser at 6:11 PM on March 10, 2016

Can someone fill me in on this "baby lamb" thing?
posted by rhizome at 6:14 PM on March 10, 2016

I've always thought discussions between the US president and Canadian PM goes about as they did in Canadian Bacon:

[attempting to speak French on the phone]
U.S. President: Écoutez!
[pause]
U.S. President: Vous avez gagné.
[pause]
U.S. President: [uncertain] Fermez les rockettes, okay!
[pause]
U.S. President: [embarrassed] About two years in high school and four years in college.
posted by the cydonian at 6:15 PM on March 10, 2016 [3 favorites]

Okay, it appears I'm one of those people who doesn't know my Ryan Reynoldses from my Ryan Goslings.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:20 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

Stephen Harper watches Obama-Trudeau state dinner on TV at Denny's
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:32 PM on March 10, 2016 [10 favorites]

If Trudeau can take Cruz back with him, the trip will have been a diplomatic success for both countries.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 6:32 PM on March 10, 2016 [8 favorites]

It's pretty amazing anyone would ever say Canada is more entrepreneurial than the United States.
posted by My Dad at 6:34 PM on March 10, 2016

The guest list includes seasoned Canadian cultural ambassadors

I can't be the only one who read that as the menu includes seasoned Canadian...look out its a (well seasoned) trap!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 6:34 PM on March 10, 2016

Justin Trudeau is the coolest man ever to lead Canada.

I would have picked a different temperature-related description...wink
posted by sallybrown at 6:34 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

I imagine Ted Cruz would be required to wear his iron mask back to Canada.
posted by graymouser at 6:35 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Justin Trudeau is the coolest man ever to lead Canada.


His dad was still cooler. He dated Kim Cattrall fer chrissakes!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:42 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

Literally Just Some Steamy Excerpts From Trudeau/Obama Fanfiction.

You know, in case Trubama is your OTP.
posted by sparklemotion at 6:47 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

Because I'm a little bit of a nerd about these things, the wines are:

Pence Chardonnay "Sebastiano" 2013 (Dry white, $50/bottle)
Cliff Lede "High Fidelity" 2012 (Bordeaux-style red blend, $80/bottle for the 2013 vintage)
Chateau Chantal Ice Wine 2013 (Sweet white (? - possibly rose); $70 per bottle with decorative box)

Overall pretty modest for a state dinner. The ice wine is a nice homage to a Canadian style, while still patronizing an American producer. Wineries are pretty stoked to have their wines served at a White House dinner; there's usually a fair bit of press in the local and industry rags, and they get a nice framed letter and a copy of the menu to hang on the wall. I'm sure Chateau Chantal in particular is quite pleased since Michigan is obviously not generally known for premium wines.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 6:56 PM on March 10, 2016 [13 favorites]

Ooooh Cliff Lede is great! And run by nice people!
posted by sallybrown at 6:57 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fun fact I learned today: although the Obamas and Trudeaus are enjoying a state dinner, this is NOT a state visit. After all, Trudeau is the head of the Canadian government, not Canada's head of state, which is, of course, the Queen. As such, Trudeau has been greeted with a 19 gun salute, not the tonier 21.
posted by Bromius at 6:57 PM on March 10, 2016 [15 favorites]

Poutine for all!!!
posted by thewalrus at 7:00 PM on March 10, 2016

Can someone fill me in on this "baby lamb" thing?

I'm assuming it means "teeny-tiny little chops cut so as to look fancy by wasting as much delicious lamb meat as possible." Though I'm being served neither, I'll get over the grump of insufficient lamb chops by focusing on the delightful surprise of butterscotch ice cream.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 7:07 PM on March 10, 2016

Oh, wait, butterscotch swirl. Never mind.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 7:11 PM on March 10, 2016

Michelle Obama was lovely in that blue dress, the first couple has so much finesse, that has to piss off a lot of less gifted polititoads.
posted by Oyéah at 7:16 PM on March 10, 2016 [3 favorites]

guests will arrive to little canapés of smoked-duck poutine.

Once you've made it a finger food and added smoked duck, it is no longer poutine. It may have fries, gravy, and cheese curds (and, oh God, don't tell me they substituted the cheese curds), but you've made a whole other kind of food.
posted by Banknote of the year at 7:20 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

TheWhiteSkull: "His dad was still cooler. He dated Kim Cattrall fer chrissakes!"

I learned today from this Vox article (which links to this Macleans article) that it was Kim Cattrall who called up Trudeau!

“I asked myself, ‘How do you go about getting a date with the prime minister?’ and then I just decided to call him up and ask for one,” explains actress Kim Cattrall, 24, a Vancouver native who attended the Genie Awards last week in Toronto with Pierre Trudeau. Cattrall met the prime minister at the December opening of the film Tribute, in which she co-stars with Jack Lemmon and Robby Benson. The pair hit it off and have been “in touch” ever since by telephone between Ottawa and Cattrall’s home in Los Angeles.

Also, keep in mind that at this point in her career, Kim Cattrall had mainly been doing TV guest appearances; Tribute was her first movie role. In this light, to me, the whole Trudeau/Cattrall thing is less about a swingin' Prime Minister snagging a young starlet than about a young starlet with the moxie to land a PM. The 1970s (and the part of the 1980s that was still actually the 70s) were frigging wild.
posted by mhum at 7:21 PM on March 10, 2016 [22 favorites]

Most of the lamb you buy in stores is actually mutton, I'd assume "Baby Lamb" means actual lamb.
posted by waitingtoderail at 7:54 PM on March 10, 2016

Favorite bit: The Joint press conference.
Obama visibly confused by not being the hottest world leader in that yard and relaxing into Dad humor. "Wanna keep the hair color? Start dyeing it now, kid"

Justin firing back "I will always look up to you senior friend who does not speak French"

Obama closing with "Yeah, Laugh while you can monkey boy. You will learn fire will burn..."
posted by djrock3k at 7:55 PM on March 10, 2016 [7 favorites]

I'm one of those people who doesn't know my Ryan Reynoldses from my Ryan Goslings.

One word, two syllables. DEADPOOL... DEAD-f'ing-chimichang'ing-POOL.

I don't care what leader of which country you are, you are having Dinner With Deadpool. And the Secret Service is going nuts.

Also notable short actor Michael J. Fox, notable tall athlete Grant Hill (don't seat those two next to each other), token Republican Orrin Hatch, Xerox CEO and total original not-a-copy Ursula Burns, not-the-comedian Robert Klein, Mike Meyers, Lorne Michaels (don't seat those two next to each other either) and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications David Zaslav, who spent the entire evening being asked "WHY DID YOU CANCEL MYTHBUSTERS?!?"
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

djrock3k: "Obama visibly confused by not being the hottest world leader in that yard"

Between Obama, Trudeau, and Mexico's president Nieto, NAFTA has got to be the trade region with the best looking leaders. They should call a NAFTA meeting just so they can call it the "Hunk Summit".
posted by mhum at 8:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [12 favorites]

I'm uncomfortable seeing Sophie Gregoire all over the place. Doesn't she have her own job? Maybe she should get one. Let's leave the creepy "first lady" thing to the Americans.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:19 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Stephen Harper watches Obama-Trudeau state dinner on TV at Denny's

I prefer to imagine him eating his meal like this.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:31 PM on March 10, 2016

It's times like these where I wish Obama had an instagram. What filter and hashtags would he put on a state dinner? I'm really curious, because that is a very sad, lowlit press photo of that dish.
posted by yueliang at 8:46 PM on March 10, 2016

This is the first state dinner between Canada and the USA since Hillary Clinton and Aline Chrétien brought their husbands to dinner in 1997.

Yeah Harper isn't welcome in my house, either.
posted by Hoopo at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2016

Justin Trudeau is the coolest man ever to lead Canada.

Yeah, the son of the coolest man to ever lead Canada.

I mean, Justin seems like a great guy, but "Just watch me" is about the coolest thing a Prime Minister has ever said on many levels. It's Steve McQueen-level cool. Pierre could have eaten 50 eggs.

Trudeau is the head of the Canadian government, not Canada's head of state, which is, of course, the Queen. As such, Trudeau has been greeted with a 19 gun salute, not the tonier 21.

While Liz has had numerous state visits to the US, in Canada's case it would be the Governor-General as that's the effective head of state for all practical purposes. Had David Johnston tagged along it would have been a state visit I believe, but given the actual structure of the Canadian government it would have been unnecessarily ceremonial. (I think)
posted by GuyZero at 8:55 PM on March 10, 2016 [5 favorites]

Of note: Gary Bettman (NHL) and Adam Silver (NBA) are in

Gary Bettman at the White House. I hope he brought appropriate shoes this time. Honestly, it's the President. At least stop at a Payless or something on your way there, Jesus, Gary.
posted by Hoopo at 9:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

I prefer to imagine him eating his meal like this.

Pretty sure President's Choice doesn't make canned kitten.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:06 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

When I first saw the photo from the Denny's satire article, I actually thought he was supposed to be eating a kitten.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:16 PM on March 10, 2016

I was thinking of this "classic" picture, where he's staring at you with his dead eyes and you know that like three seconds after the picture was taken he dislocated his jaw, like ya do, and swallowed that kitten whole.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

That's exactly the photo I was thinking of! Man, that poor kitten. IT WAS NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN...
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:17 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

You know the thing about Harper, he's got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:35 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

Was Reynolds in character as Deadpool? How about the guy from Blade 3? No?

*closes tab*
posted by brundlefly at 10:58 PM on March 10, 2016

Is there a photo blog of the foods eaten at various state dinners? Or are guests not supposed to take and share photos of the food? I want to see.
posted by polymodus at 12:57 AM on March 11, 2016

I'm surprised to hear her called Gregoire-Trudeau, on the news up here you only ever hear her called Sophie Gregoire. Hmm.

(And yes she has a job - entertainment news journalist- but just had a baby in 2014 ... Though I agree about the first lady thing not being a Canadian as well as having no formal role in the Canadian parliament)
posted by chapps at 1:08 AM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

IMO the "just watch me" quote is only cool out of context (grump).
posted by chapps at 1:10 AM on March 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

Okay, it appears I'm one of those people who doesn't know my Ryan Reynoldses from my Ryan Goslings.

Gosling is the hot brooding one. Reynolds is the hot funny one. Both Canadian.
posted by 256 at 5:15 AM on March 11, 2016

IMO the "just watch me" quote is only cool out of context (grump).

I was going to say the same thing. Here's the context:

(Pierre) Trudeau: Yes, well there are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don't like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is, go on and bleed, but it is more important to keep law and order in this society than to be worried about weak-kneed people who don't like the looks of a soldier's helmet.

Ralfe: At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?

Trudeau: Well, just watch me.

Ralfe: At reducing civil liberties? To that extent?

Trudeau: To what extent?

Ralfe: Well, if you extend this and you say, ok, you're going to do anything to protect them, does this include wire-tapping, reducing other civil liberties in some way?

Trudeau: Yes, I think the society must take every means at its disposal to defend itself against the emergence of a parallel power which defies the elected power in this country and I think that goes to any distance. So long as there is a power in here which is challenging the elected representative of the people I think that power must be stopped and I think it's only, I repeat, weak-kneed bleeding hearts who are afraid to take these measures.
posted by erlking at 7:07 AM on March 11, 2016 [10 favorites]

(Just heard "sophie gregoire-trudeau" on CBC radio. HM.)
posted by chapps at 7:18 AM on March 11, 2016

Gosling is the hot brooding one. Reynolds is the hot funny one. Both Canadian.

Not a fan of Breaker High?
posted by beau jackson at 7:29 AM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

(And yes she has a job - entertainment news journalist- but just had a baby in 2014 ..

Ah, ok, then I guess I don't mind seeing her everywhere so long as I'm seeing her in an entertainment news journalist capacity, once she goes back from her mat leave. But I don't want to see stories about what she wears, what she cooks, what she thinks about anything, or anything else.

So, newspaper, magazine, tv show, and web site editors, before publishing a story about Sophie Gregoire or mentioning her in some other story, please ask yourself, "Have we ever done a story like this about Ben Mulroney or mentioned Ben Mulroney in a context like this?" and if the answer is no, then kill the story or cut the paragraph. Thank you.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:43 AM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Justin Trudeau is the coolest man ever to lead Canada.

His dad was still cooler. He dated Kim Cattrall fer chrissakes!

Dear God, spare us from "cool" (or "hot") political figures!

Before PET dated Ms C, he admired fascists, even after the war began. SeeYoung Trudeau: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada, 1919-1944. Some blame it on the church. Still, an appetite for power seems to have been at work from the get go.

Not sure who to blame for JT's admiration of totalitarian efficiency China's "basic dictatorship". We all say stupid things form time to time, but in politicians, it behooves us to look for the Freudian Slip.

Not Cool, in any event. Definitely Not Cool.
posted by IndigoJones at 9:46 AM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Never mind all the media chatter about what Michelle and Sophie were wearing… Canadian Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo wore a (illegal/not illegal) sealskin tie to the White House.
posted by Kabanos at 11:00 AM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Even if he weren't inuit, presumably he would have diplomatic immunity if he's there to attend a state dinner.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:07 AM on March 11, 2016

The article shows Tootoo's Twitter photo of the group, and its lready recirculating as a #sealfie

:)
posted by chapps at 3:36 PM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm surprised to hear her called Gregoire-Trudeau, on the news up here you only ever hear her called Sophie Gregoire. Hmm.

There was actually a bit of a kerfuffle in Quebec because during the election, she started calling herself Gregoire-Trudeau.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:16 PM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Not-the-comedian Robert Klein ?
Boy, that narrows it down...
posted by y2karl at 9:39 PM on March 12, 2016

Interestingly, the Libs just send out an email "signed" by Sophie asking about issues that are important to people. It seems like she intends to be far more of an active First Lady than we typically have in Canada.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:37 PM on March 13, 2016

Yeah, this is from the party, i bet....work for the party is typical, as she is likely a member herself.
There is no office or budget for a first lady in the government itself.
posted by chapps at 7:00 AM on March 15, 2016

Then let me add to my earlier guidelines for the media, this guideline for the liberal party: If the Ben Mulroney isn't doing it for the Tories, don't have Sophie Gregoire do it for the Liberals.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:06 AM on March 15, 2016

You don't think there is a difference between party advertising and a first-spouse official office? Parties often have promotions including prominent party members. She's well known in her own right, especially in Quebec. Kind of comparable to the duffster, aside from the corruption, just in general... Well know media person, with party affiliation, stumps for the party. She has done a lot of advocacy and publuc speaking in the past decade on women's health and girls rights, that isn't a new thing.
posted by chapps at 11:31 AM on March 15, 2016

I think it's icky to have the spouse be some sort of political thing attached by virtue of being spouse. Like I said, if she's doing her media person thing, that is her thing, carry on. If she's doing it because she's married to the PM, then I'm uncomfortable with it both because from a random-public-person point of view, I don't think being married to someone makes someone qualified/noteworthy etc., and because I am wary of creating a situation where it becomes expected that the de facto job of someone married to the PM is to support the PM in his/her PMly things. If this becomes the de facto (or even official) job of someone married to the PM, then it makes it difficult for the spouse to have their own job/do their own thing/do whatever they want because they're roped into their job by virtue of their spouses (how would it be ok if your partner's employer expected you do things for them, too?). And the fact that it always seems to be women hauled into this kind of first spouse role just reinforces the idea that women are adjuncts of their husbands, primarily there to be supportive of what they do.

So I think the Ben Mulroney comparison is sound. Here's a guy with basically the same career (entertainment reporter) who has a connection to (in this case a past) PM. I'm sure he does charity stuff, sometimes, too, and he may even do some political promotion, I don't know. But it's not treated like it's his quasi job to do these things just because he's a PM's son and the media don't seem to feel any particular need to run around covering him doing these things.

So yeah, she can be a media person with a party affiliation, but I don't want her treated any different than any other media person with a party affiliation, meaning I don't think her duties in that role should be any greater, and I don't think the coverage of her in that role should be any greater just because she's married to the PM. So if she's been doing this for the past decade, good for her, but there's no reason to suddenly start covering her now any more than she would have been covered before.

I stand by my Ben Mulroney-based rules of thumb.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:18 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks. Sound points.
posted by chapps at 8:46 AM on March 18, 2016