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Yes, We Can, Eh?How Canadians are dealing with an American president they actually like.

By Karim BardeesyPosted Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at 6:41 PM ET

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On climate change, Harper's reluctance to call for quick cuts in carbon emissions has many Canadian environmentalists looking south for support. Buoyed by their perceptions about Obama's platform, activist groups and Indian tribes have bought ads in American papers, hoping to "make it clear to Obama that Canada's citizens do not support our Prime Minister's climate wrecking." Today's announcement of a tepid-sounding "clean energy dialogue" between the two countries is likely to continue Canadian pressure via American channels.

This wagon-hitching can be explained by cross-border connections and political realities. Obama's disapproval rating in Canada is less than 4 percent, while Harper clings to power in a minority parliament. "You have a Canadian prime minister who wants Canada to look more like the U.S., and an American president who wants the U.S. to look more like Canada," says pollster Peter Donolo.

Obama may be the face of the political future in a Canada where every fifth resident is foreign-born but which has had only one foreign-born prime minister since the days of 19^th-century Scottish immigration.* Some Canadians who are asking "Where's our Obama?" have settled on someone who shares his world-traveler and Harvard connections: opposition leader Michael Ignatieff, who also knows Obama economic adviser Lawrence Summers and foreign-policy adviser Samantha Power.

Of course, there are a few things Canadian that Americans would like. There's oil and natural gas to be bought (though at around $40 a barrel, the tap from Alberta's tar sands is closing, with further development projects becoming uneconomical). And Obama appears to have been briefed on Canada's mostly sound banking system, which has required no TARP money and little regulatory rescue—he touted Canada's fiscal and financial strength during his pre-visit interview with the CBC. Obama adviser Paul Volcker told a Canadian audience this week that the ideal banking system, focusing on traditional lending and depositing "looks more like the Canadian system than the American system."

Still, most Canadians viewed today's visit as an occasion to vent their historic insecurities about their larger, noisier, and more famous southern neighbor. Referring to Obama's visit, Ed McNamara, a Toronto screenwriter, said, "I don't hope he'll do anything great. I fear we're going to do something stupid."

Correction, Feb. 20, 2009: This article mistakenly stated that Canada has had no foreign-born prime minister since the 19^th century. John Turner, prime minister in 1984, was born in the United Kingdom. (Return to the corrected sentence.)