Ottawa

Who gets credit for The Wave?

Ottawa Citizen. After a brief conversation, the two men turned around and went outside — apparently at Mr. Obama’s suggestion — where they waved to the crowd for a few seconds from behind a plexiglass barrier.

Globe and Mail. The 44th U.S. President arrived on snowy Parliament Hill to give a sunny wave to the thrilled crowd – urging Mr. Harper to join in – and stopped downtown to buy a BeaverTail treat six hours later on his way back to Air Force One.

Toronto Star. The much-anticipated photo-op with the two leaders almost never happened. For a few seconds, Harper seemed satisfied to shake hands with the president and pull him inside Parliament. Only when Obama insisted on extending a wave to the waiting crowd did the pair step back into the cold for their historic photos. A radio sound bite later confirmed the sequence, with Obama saying to Harper, “Do you mind if we go out there and take a quick wave at some of the people there?”

Barbara Yaffe. It was Obama, rather than the PM, who after an initial handshake in the Centre Block lobby initiated a brief stroll to the building’s entrance for an impromptu wave to an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,500 onlookers. Again, it was a broadly smiling Obama who put a hand on Harper’s shoulder, directing him back inside.

L. Ian MacDonaldGreeting Obama at the Peace Tower entrance, Stephen Harper pointed to the friendly crowd gathered on the snowy lawn below. “Why don’t we go out and take a quick look,” suggested Obama as he and the Prime Minister stepped outside for a brief wave from behind a sheet of bulletproof glass spanning a portal of the Peace Tower. 

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