Canada PM Harper to meet Obama next week

Canadian media said the two leaders were likely to unveil the trade and border deal during the talks on December 7, but Canadian officials would not confirm the accord was on the agenda.

The continental "perimeter security" pact would see better coordination of intelligence sharing and other measures to bolster trade by reducing the number of checks at the Canada-US border.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama "looks forward to welcoming" Harper to the White House.

Canada "is a close ally and partner of the United States, and the president looks forward to discussing our important bilateral relationship, including economic competitiveness and security and key global issues," he said.

Harper said at an appearance in Burlington, Ontario, "Even with all of the problems that exist in the United States, (access to the US market) remains essential to our wellbeing and to our future prosperity.

"Work has been continuing on that... and, I look forward to discussing this particular project and a number of others when I meet President Obama in Washington next week."

Canada's interest in entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade group, which already includes the United States, as well as the Keystone XL pipeline to bring oil from Canadian tar sands to the United States could also be discussed at the meeting.

Harper told reporters Canada's economic prosperity and security "depends on resource development," particularly its energy sector, as well as diversifying its markets for those products.

Pressed on a proposal to build a pipeline from the tar sands to the Pacific Coast to reach Asian markets if the XL pipeline fails to get US approval, he added: "It's not in this country's interest that we are a captive supplier of the United States, of energy products, especially when we see some of the politics that are going on south of the border."

Harper was alluding to wrangling over the project which he had expected to be approved by Washington.

Instead, the Obama administration last month said it would study an alternate route for the oil pipeline, and pushed back its final decision on the project until 2013 -- after next year's presidential elections.

Environmental activists opposed the multi-billion-dollar project because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions from boosting oil sands output, as well as fears of a possible spill along the 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometer) pipeline.

Its backers, including US Republicans, pointed to the thousands of jobs it would create in the United States at a time of high unemployment.

To reporters, Harper also reaffirmed Ottawa's commitment to buy F-35 fighter jets, amid reports of new technical problems with the US aircrafts, saying more than 60 Canadian companies are subcontracted to build them.

Harper's spokesman Andrew MacDougall, meanwhile, said the prime minister would be "discussing the Canada-US bilateral relationship, including economic competitiveness, trade and security, and key global issues with President Obama."