By David Ljunggren and Roberta Rampton
OTTAWA/WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Canada's charismatic
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be traveling to Washington
this week for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, hoping to
revitalize a frayed relationship and draw rare attention to
Canadian issues.
Trudeau's Liberals came to power in November by ousting the
right-wing Conservative leader Stephen Harper, whose ties with
Washington deteriorated as he hectored Obama in a failed bid to
gain approval for a major Canada-U.S. pipeline.
Trudeau, who has basked in international media attention
since coming to power and whose progressive politics are much
more in tune with Obama's, will attend a state dinner Thursday,
becoming the first Canadian leader to do so since 1997.
"We want to strengthen our relationship with the United
States at a time when it is key for our agenda of economic
growth," Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said in an interview on
Monday.
Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States.
It is also the United States' largest trading partner and
biggest supplier of oil, but has found it hard to stand out.
"We'd sometimes like to think that Americans would pay
attention to us from time to time," Trudeau said in an interview
with the CBS television show "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday.
Trudeau will press his message on Thursday, holding talks
with Obama, lunching with Secretary of State John Kerry and then
attending the state dinner.
Canada wants to avoid a fresh trade fight over its softwood
lumber exports, while the United States will reiterate
long-standing concerns about how much information Ottawa shares
on terror suspects, say officials involved with the talks.
The two sides are also set to sign a declaration committing
to the fight against climate change, sources said.
"Canada's not an issue that gets a lot of attention
normally," said a senior U.S. administration official.
"(But) I'd be hard-pressed to identify a relationship that's
more important day in, day out, and that affects more Americans
day in, day out."
Trudeau has a higher profile than any Canadian leader since
his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, was in power
four decades ago. The New York Times and Vogue magazine are
among the U.S. outlets that have run sympathetic profiles about
him.
Still, his visit may be overshadowed by the raucous race
between Republican candidates vying to run for the White House.
Thursday's dinner coincides with a Republican debate in the
battleground state of Florida.
(Writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and
Bernadette Baum)