The Shamrock Summit was the colloquial name given to the March 17–18, 1985 meeting between

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

and

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Ronald Reagan in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. It gained this nickname because of the Irish background of the two leaders and because the meeting started on

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

. The summit was capped by a televised gala, which ended with Mulroney, Reagan and their wives singing''

When Irish Eyes are Smiling "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a lighthearted song in tribute to Ireland. Its lyrics were written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr., set to music composed by Ernest Ball, for Olcott's production of ''The Isle O' Dreams'', and Olcott san ...

'', which publicly exemplified the camaraderie between the two leaders. Documents later revealed that American officials saw the summit as an excellent chance to mend relations between the two countries in the post-

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

era. Among the many issues discussed in a busy 24-hour schedule were military planning, upgrading the

DEW line The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska (see Proj ...

to use modern electronics, a landmark agreement on the control of acid rain, and the formal signing of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and the "Canada-US Declaration on Goods and Services", the first major step towards the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Background

Mulroney enjoyed a close friendship with Reagan at the time; both men considered themselves

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

s politically, and shared a common agenda on many issues, notably

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...

. This relationship bred some resentment among those who felt it was improper for Canadian-US relations to be too intimate. Canadian historian

Jack Granatstein Jack Lawrence Granatstein (May 21, 1939) is a Canadian historian who specializes in Canadian political and military history.SeJack Granatsteinfrom The Canadian Encyclopedia Education Born on May 21, 1939, in Toronto, Ontario, into a Jewish fam ...

said that this "public display of sucking up to Reagan may have been the single most demeaning moment in the entire political history of Canada's relations with the United States."

References

{{Reflist Canada–United States relations History of Quebec City Presidency of Ronald Reagan Diplomatic conferences in Canada 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1985 conferences 1985 in international relations Brian Mulroney United States presidential visits 1985 in Quebec 1980s in Quebec City March 1985 events in Canada