With the passing of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, we remember his tireless dedication to human rights, social justice, and global peace. In this thread, we reflect on his remarkable friendship with Canada.
In 1952, a nuclear reactor partially melted down at Chalk River – 125 miles from Canada’s capital. As a naval officer, Mr. Carter arrived with a team to help repair the damaged reactor. He later attributed this as an indication of the close ties between Canadians and Americans.
President Carter looked to these strong Canada-U.S. ties during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis, where Canadian diplomats sheltered six American colleagues in Tehran.
In 1982, Mr. Carter founded The Carter Center – an NGO to promote peace, democracy, & health worldwide. Canada joined the Carter Center under former Prime Minister Clark and has partnered in support of its work on human rights and democracy.
He formed a close friendship with Canada’s 15th prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, whose funeral he attended as a pallbearer in 2000. In 1977, President Carter invited Mr. Trudeau for an official visit, where he addressed Congress – the first Canadian prime minister to do so.
His post-presidential work with Habitat for Humanity brought him to Canada in 2017. As part of Canada’s 150th anniversary, Mr. Carter and his wife Rosalynn volunteered to help build 150 homes for families in need, including the 58 “Carter Place” townhouses in Edmonton, Alberta.