Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says the new president of the United States is "an extraordinary personality" who cares deeply about his relationship with Canada and is well-informed about major bilateral issues.
Ignatieff told CTV's Canada AM that U.S. President Barack Obama was "a total master of the Canadian files that he was asked to grasp" and that he values his neighbours to the north.
"I think he understands that we're not just a useful ally, a friendly ally - we're an essential ally," Ignatieff said Friday morning.
"We supply them with most of their energy, we are a huge part of their external market."
The president, Ignatieff said, "knows how important we are."
The Liberal leader had a half-hour meeting with Obama at the end of the president's whirlwind, six-hour visit to Ottawa on Thursday.
Ignatieff said Obama was a politician with "style, but also enormous substance," who is a thoughtful, focused and capable leader.
"This is a really substantial politician and I think Canadians can feel better knowing he's at the helm," he said.
The two politicians talked about cross-border trade issues and the war in Afghanistan, among other topics.
Ignatieff said he made it clear to the president that Canada did not intend to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2011.
And he said Obama indicated that many Americans have the same questions about the Afghanistan mission that Canadians have asked themselves.
"I said to him: 'Look, Mr. President, Canadians are asking: Where is this mission going? What are we trying to accomplish?'" Ignatieff said.
"And he laughed and said to me: 'A lot of people in the White House are asking the same question.'"
Ignatieff said he told Obama that Canada should be part of the strategic review of Afghanistan that the U.S. is currently conducting.
The two men also talked about the border.
"I took him through the border issue, because I think it's a choke chain on our economy," Ignatieff said.
"He was very receptive to that. He's from a northern state, he knows how much of our trade crosses the border, sometimes four or five times a day."
"We make things together, he understands that and he doesn't want us to stop making things together. So, that was positive," Ignatieff added.
Despite reports that some Liberals were frustrated about the brief time Ignatieff had with the president, the Liberal leader said it was not an issue.
"I'd meet that guy in a phone booth," Ignatieff joked. "I was very happy with the meeting, it was great."
With files from The Canadian Press
