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Reagan and Trudeau: Their First Telephone call

Anticipated House of Commons Note and McGuigan memo to Trudeau, January 21, 1981

One day after being inaugurated as President, External Affairs was informed of Reagan’s intention to call him.  The memo described the purpose of Reagan’s call as a “gesture of friendship.” Like with many other transitions, new Presidents and Prime Ministers have often made their first priority the establishment of good working relations with their counterparts. The talking points prepared for Trudeau emphasized friendly relations and plans for an early Ottawa visit, but also included mention of Trudeau’s recent Mexico trip, the upcoming North-South summit at Cancun and an openness to trilateral cooperation (Trudeau being a skeptic of Reagan’s North American Accord). was issues. In his memo to Trudeau, McGuigan praised Reagan’s inaugural delivery, even while noting its contents did not match the inspiration of John F. Kennedy’s address two decades earlier.

Reagan and Trudeau: Their First Telephone call