Anjali Helferty carries a life-size cutout of U.S. President Barack Obama across Rideau street in Ottawa Wednesday.(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama to Canada Thursday for his first foreign trip since taking office in what is being billed as a six-hour no-nonsense working visit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Air Force One touched down around 10:30 a.m. at Ottawa International Airport, having left Andrews Air Force base outside Washington, D.C., about an hour earlier. Jean is expected to meet with the president for about 20 minutes.
An RCMP honour guard lined the tarmac as Obama was greeted by Jean and other officials.
Obama is scheduled to leave the airport via motorcade and arrive at Parliament Hill around 11:40 a.m. to meet Harper in the Centre Block rotunda.
A few dozen people, some holding flags and banners, gathered in front of Parliament Hill hoping to catch a glimpse of Obama when he arrives
Thousands more are expected to brave the light snow and chilly, damp weather to line the heavily guarded and barricaded streets of Ottawa. Busloads of police started arriving in the downtown area around 7:30 a.m. ET to start shutting down the streets.
Several major roads in the capital have been closed, while concrete and steel barriers have been erected around Parliament Hill as part of a massive security operation ahead of Obama's visit.
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