Our leader makes his first official visit to Canada this week.

During his trip to the great white north, Mr. Bush won't be addressing the Canadian Parliament for fear of being heckled. This follows an ongoing theme the president has struck in not addressing the British Parliament, and forcing campaign rally attendees to sign loyalty oaths.

U.S. PRESIDENTS WHO HAVE VISITED OTTAWA, AND ADDRESSED PARLIAMENT:

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: August 25, 1943
2. Harry S. Truman: June 11, 1947
3. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Nov. 14, 1953
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower: July 9, 1958
5. John F. Kennedy: May 17, 1961
6. Richard M. Nixon: April 14, 1972
7. Ronald Wilson Reagan: March 11, 1981
8. Ronald Wilson Reagan: April 6, 1987
9. Bill Clinton: Feb. 23, 1995

U.S. PRESIDENTS WHO DID NOT ADDRESS PARLIAMENT, BUT CAME TO OTTAWA:

1. Lyndon B. Johnson
2. George H.W. Bush
3. George W. Bush

Last year, Bush did address the Australian Parliament, and was heckled by two Green Party senators. Bush's absence at the Canadian Parliament plays into suspicions many of us have that he is quite insecure, and unable to handle criticism even as he tries to project confidence. It has led this Toronto Star columnist to ask if the president is in fact a weenie.