US, Canada strike deal on illegal migration during Biden trip

President Joe Biden has laid out a vision of world-leading US-Canadian economic cooperation in a speech to Canada's parliament, and announced that the giant neighbours had reached a deal on curbing illegal migration.

Standing ovations by Canadian lawmakers punctuated Biden's roughly half-hour speech in Ottawa that was thick on praise for North American unity — a sentiment matched earlier when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his own address on Friday.

"Americans and Canadians are two peoples, two countries, in my view sharing one heart," Biden said, getting cheers when he vowed Canada will "always be able to count on the United States."

Biden signalled a resolution to one irritant in the close relationship, with a deal on managing the growing issue of undocumented migration on their lengthy border.

"The United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings," he said. The arrangement will see undocumented asylum seekers crossing from the United States into Canada turned back, while Canada will simultaneously expand the pathway for legal entries.

Criticism of plan 

The plan — similar to a crackdown on the much more heavily used US-Mexican border — has been criticised by refugees and migrants' rights activists. However, Biden and Trudeau are both under political pressure to relieve their badly strained immigration systems and Biden said that regardless, "welcoming refugees and asylum seekers is a part of who Canadians and Americans are."

Biden opened his speech with a nod to Canadian bilingualism, greeting parliamentarians with "good afternoon" and "bonjour" — joking that this was as far as he'd got in four years of French at school.

And the bonhomie flowed from then on.

Biden laid out a vision of the neighbours being ever more closely bound with the joint goal of building high-tech economies and reinforcing supply chains for things like critical minerals used in electric vehicle manufacturing.

"Canada and the United States can do big things," he concluded to more cheering. "We're going to write the future together."

Trudeau earlier greeted Biden at the parliament building, saying Canada has "no greater friend and ally than the United States" — a message underlined through the gift to Biden of a chocolate bar from Peace by Chocolate, a brand started by Syrian refugees.

READ MORE: Biden's Canada agenda stacked: NORAD, migration deals likely

NORAD, China, Haiti

Earlier face-to-face talks between Biden and Trudeau covered a range of areas where both sides are pushing for improvements.

The US government has been pressuring Canada to increase its defence spending, which in 2022 was just 1.33 percent of GDP. This is scheduled to rise to 1.59 percent from 2026, but that's still well below the NATO alliance requirement of minimum two percent of GDP spending.

A joint statement said that Biden and Trudeau agreed to modernising their countries' joint air defense alliance, NORAD, with Canada putting billions of dollars into improved radar and fighter aircraft infrastructure.

A revamped NORAD will "defend against emerging threats to our air and sea space and compete with China and Russia for years to come," the statement said.

The two leaders reaffirmed support for pro-Western Ukraine "for as long as it takes" in its war to push back Russian invasion, and also issued a warning to China.

"Canada and the United States acknowledge the serious long-term challenge to the international order posed by the People's Republic of China, including disruptive actions such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and human rights abuses," the statement said.

"While we will cooperate with China in areas of mutual interest, such as on climate change, we remain committed to ensuring our ability to compete effectively with China on a level playing field."

Closer to home, the two leaders said they "remain concerned about deteriorating security in Haiti," but did not say whether progress had been made on long-discussed plans for an international intervention force to stabilise the chaotic Caribbean nation.