U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Ottawa on a foggy Thursday evening, kicking off a whirlwind two-day visit to the capital.
Crowds of people gathered along Bronson Avenue, Colonel By Drive and Sussex Drive as Biden and his motorcade travelled from the Ottawa International Airport to Rideau Cottage for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A heightened security presence greeted the president as he arrived in Ottawa, with several roads closed and Ottawa police, the RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and other police forces maintaining a presence across the Parliamentary Precinct.
Biden's only item on the itinerary tonight is a meeting with Trudeau and his wife at Rideau Cottage. Biden's trip will include an address to Parliament on Friday.
Ottawa police and the city of Ottawa have warned residents and visitors will see an increased police presence across the downtown core on Thursday and Friday, and there will be "significant traffic and transit disruptions" during the visit.
Biden is the 12th U.S. president to visit Ottawa. Biden visited Ottawa as vice-president in 2016.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about President Biden's first day in Ottawa.
Governor General Mary Simon will welcome the president and first lady at the Canada Reception Centre at the Ottawa International Airport shortly after the plane lands.
The delegation of Canadian officials meeting Biden at the Ottawa airport includes Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Treasury Board President Mona Fortier.
Biden will travel to Rideau Cottage to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau later Thursday evening. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the meeting an "intimate gathering".
On Friday, President Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Trudeau and address Parliament.
The city of Ottawa and Ottawa police say there will be road closures and traffic disruptions today.
The following roads will be closed from 4 p.m. on Thursday until 11 p.m. on Friday:
City staff say the following roads will have temporary disruptions today due to the president's visit:
While President Biden's motorcade is moving, the Macdonald-Cartier and Alexandra bridges will have "intermittent and temporary closures in both directions" for all vehicular, cyclist and pedestrian traffic.
"The morning commute on Thursday, March 23 is not expected to be impacted, however, for security reasons, the exact details and timing of road closures and other impacts to City services may be communicated at the last minute. We appreciate your patience and understanding as this visit takes place," the city said.
OC Transpo says bus service will be detoured from Rideau Street to the Mackenzie King Bridge due to the president's visit. The following routes will be detoured from 5 p.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Friday - 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 97, 99, 111, 299.
Some OC Transpo bus routes and Para Transpo service will experience travel delays due to road closures and various routes will experience detours during select time periods.
The O-Train will be operating as regularly scheduled, with stops at Rideau Station.
Transport Canada announced Thursday morning it has issued a NOTAM (notice to air missions) restricting the operation of all aircraft, including drones, within a five nautical mile radius of Parliament Hill (about 9 kilometres). They have also issued the same restriction within a 24 nautical mile radius of the Ottawa airport (about 44 kilometres).
The notices will be in effect from 5:30 p.m. Thursday until 10 p.m. Friday, about the length of the president's planned stay. Regularly scheduled commercial and cargo flights, along with police, military and medevac flights, are excluded from those restrictions.
NORAD warns Ottawa residents may see military aircraft in the sky during President Biden's visit to the capital.
CF-18 Hornet fighter jets and CH-146 Griffon helicopters may be in the skies over Ottawa the next two days.
Live coverage of the visit starts Thursday on CTV News Channel. For the latest updates on the trip, including Biden’s address to Parliament, follow our live blog launching Friday on CTVNews.ca and the CTV News app.
With files from CTV News senior digital parliamentary reporter Rachel Aiello
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Despite the alarming facts and figures, experts say Canada is far more reactive than it is proactive when it comes to wildfires and they’re calling for a national campaign on wildfire education to better prepare for the future.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventative Medicine Reports by a group of international researchers has found that post-secondary students with unhealthy eating habits can go on to suffer from disease and mental health issues for years to come.
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say three people are facing charges following the alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl.
Showers are predicted Saturday over the aggressive wildfire threatening Tumbler Ridge, but forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep through the parched region without bringing any rain.
Air Canada says it made a mistake in rejecting some compensation claims from the thousands of travellers affected by delayed flights due to computer malfunctions.
Nova Scotia says it has identified more details about the records stolen in a file transfer service cyber attack, impacting teachers, students and health care workers' records.
The majority of Halifax-area residents evacuated due to wildfires are now permitted to return home.
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say three people are facing charges following the alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl.
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass was demoted from the team’s roster on Friday afternoon after sharing an anti-LGBTQ2S+ video.
An Ontario woman was surprised to find out her licence plate was duplicated by another driver after multiple Highway 407 bills landed in her mailbox.
A Vaughan man thought he had done the right thing by equipping his brand new SUV with tracking technology offered by the manufacturer — but when it was stolen, he faced plenty of roadblocks sharing that location with the police chasing after it.
Montreal police (SPVM) stats for 2022 show that crime went up dramatically in 2022 and, taking COVID-19 pandemic numbers into account, violent crimes have been on the rise overall since 2017. In addition, motor vehicle thefts skyrocketed, having more than doubled since pre pandemic years.
As Iran continues to be torn apart by social upheaval caused by protests against the authoritarian political regime in power, the Femme, Vie, Liberté Montréal collective and the French-language branch of Amnesty International Canada are organizing a march in solidarity with the Iranian people. The major gathering will take place in Montreal on Saturday.
A chain of illegal magic mushroom dispensaries in Ontario is determined to open a location in Montreal this summer despite the threat of a crackdown by Mayor Valerie Plante.
One person has been killed in Kirkland Lake following a shooting Thursday evening on Second Street East.
A water advisory is in effect for Kagawong on Manitoulin Island. Public Health Sudbury and Districts say a loss of water pressure created conditions that has compromised the safety of the community's drinking water.
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
A London, Ont. courtroom heard Friday that from a so-called “hobby farm” near Newbury, drugs were being housed and trafficked.
A three-vehicle collision on Wellington Road resulted in an SUV flipping onto its roof and one person being sent to hospital Friday afternoon.
A neighbourhood pool in west London, Ont. may not be able to open this year because the federal funding it depends on every year to hire lifeguards has not come through.
Mounties say remains found in western Manitoba have been identified as a woman who has been missing for three years.
An ad campaign from an out-of-province group is fanning the political flames in Manitoba.
A downtown fountain has undergone a facelift to honour Winnipeg's water source.
Police have shut down a section of Highway 401 westbound between Woodstock and Cambridge after a crash involving a transport truck and an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) vehicle.
A new bar in Uptown Waterloo is offering an exclusive experience based around a members-only model.
The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS) is sounding the alarm after a significant number of drug overdose and poisonings were reported over the last few days.
Disturbing new details about a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary have come to light, as court documents exposing accounts from his alleged victims have been unsealed.
Calgary firefighters scrambled to attack a grass fire that broke out in the southeast, near an Amazon warehouse, between Builders Road and Manitou Road, around 8:30 p.m., Friday evening.
For the second time in about a month, residents of Edson were told to leave town Friday night because of a wildfire.
The head of Saskatoon’s chamber of commerce responding with frustration to the city’s announcement of a $75 million deficit over the next two years — and the tax hikes that will likely be needed to help makeup some of the the shortfall.
A tunnel connecting Saskatoon's Fairhaven community to the Meadowgreen neighbourhood is raising concerns.
An iconic Saskatoon parade isn’t going ahead this year and there are conflicting reasons about the reason why.
For the second time in about a month, residents of Edson were told to leave town Friday night because of a wildfire.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
Edmonton has set a new record high for June 9th. The city reached 30.8 degrees Friday afternoon, breaking the old record of 30.6 set in 1913.
The Moby Dick restaurant has been serving up its famous fish and chips on the White Rock promenade since it was founded by the Mueller family in 1975. But one local city councillor clearly isn’t a fan.
Authorities in West Vancouver say it's lucky more people were not harmed when a driver crashed his car through the entrance of a Whole Foods Friday, coming to a stop in the busy produce section.
Developer Beedie Living's condo tower was originally voted down by the City of Vancouver's Development Permit Board in 2017, but a challenge in B.C. Supreme Court and a shift in community sentiment have given the project new life.
A young Saskatchewan girl that stole the hearts of the province, and millions online, is back in hospital.
A 13-year-old is dead following a vehicle rollover near Moosomin on Thursday morning.
Saskatchewan RCMP cancelled an Amber Alert after two missing children were located.
