Obama’s Ottawa visit brings every form of badass you can imagine

[Against the backdrop of Parliament, U.S. President Barack Obama puts his hand on the shoulder of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a group photo at the “Three Amigos” summit in Ottawa on Wednesday. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque]

Ottawa turned into a temporary police state Wednesday as hundreds of military and security officials cordoned off a massive chunk of Canada’s capital and placed much of the downtown on lockdown, all to host the North American Leaders’ Summit for one day.

Security is always top of mind whenever the prime minister is visited by foreign leaders, of course, but when it’s the president of the United States it seems to kick it to another level.

Barack Obama brings his own backup plane.

Plus, add a third national leader to the mix, the president of Mexico who has been in Ottawa already on a state visit, and you’ve got one whale of an operation.

It’s hard to overstate just how much this kind of lockdown can disrupt normal life. With roadblocks on major roads, Ottawa streets became eerily silent, save for the slicing sounds of helicopters overhead.

As I walked toward the National Gallery of Canada where the summit is being hosted, I saw families, tourists and cyclists being redirected around the security cordon by officers whose orders were simple and clear: no one moves past this spot.

That’s all they were told, one officer told me. They seemed as unaware of the details of what was going on inside the summit as any passerby. Which made the encounters I saw a bit awkward.

One francophone cyclist, who seemed to be caught off guard by all the police presence, couldn’t communicate that well with an officer who spoke mostly English and who kept telling him “closed, closed, closed.” He finally got the message.

Two younger men in front of the U.S. Embassy were trying to find Major’s Hill Park, which is up a hill and across the street from the back door of the embassy. Problem was police had blocked off the sidewalk all the way back a couple blocks. They sighed when they realized they’d have to backtrack so much.

On Sussex Drive, the main drag that passes the gallery, security forces lined every block. They gathered in bunches on street corners and walked up and down the street, eyeing pedestrians.

Across the street from the gallery, a long line of Ottawa police motorcycles stretched the entire length of the Kuwait embassy that borders Sussex. Some security officials there were snapping photos with their smartphones, possibly just as transfixed by all the show of force as the rest of us.

The day started this morning as Obama arrived at the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport in Air Force One.

Hours before the landing, every possible form of badass you can imagine was casing the joint.

Snipers on the roof. Military with armoured vehicles. Local, regional and national police. People in suits with harried looks on their faces holding earpieces against their heads. People quietly muttering into their sleeves.

As each VIP arrived to join the welcoming party — Canada’s foreign minister, the U.S. ambassador, the governor general — the tension kept ratcheting up. At one point I was told that when the plane arrives, it would be a good idea for me not to move.

Not move at all, I said?

Well, came the answer, you can probably move your head, but not much more than that.

Despite going through airport-style security, getting multiple press credentials and showing up nice and early, it was obvious that we were all still just one false move away from being in serious trouble.

When Air Force One landed, everything moved like clockwork. A motorcade that seemed to be over two-dozen vehicles long assembled itself in front of the plane. At the front of the motorcade was the Beast, the nickname for Obama’s armoured car.

Out the back of the plane came support workers and toward the front went more. The red carpet was rolled out. The door opened. Obama stepped out and quickly waved.

Then he was down the steps, meeting the greeting party. The Beast’s driver already was at the door. Suddenly he was in, and the motorcade was off. Just as quickly as it had assembled, it disappeared in a long, snaking line.