It has seemingly become a mandatory photo op for federal government ministers travelling to China — cuddling up with an adorable panda.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Minister John Baird and former environment minister Jim Prentice are a handful of the folks from the Conservative government who have teed up the photo ops in recent years.
On Thursday, Baird tweeted a photo of him with a panda during his current mission to China. The foreign minister is visiting Chengdu and Chongqing to meet with government officials and business leaders, before moving on to Shanghai and Beijing.
Here’s some more of Canada’s greatest panda hits over the past couple of years, including Harper and wife Laureen with a panda during his official trip to China in 2012.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper and wife Laureen with a panda during their 2012 trip to China
And here’s the video of them:
And then there was this pic of Prentice, environment minister at the time (and just about to announce his retirement from politics) with a panda during a 2010 trip to China.
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Jim Prentice, former minister in the Harper government, and his wife posing with a panda in 2010.
The continued panda diplomacy has contributed to Canada landing a pair of Chinese pandas for 10 years; five years each at zoos in Toronto and Calgary.
The pair of pandas — Da Mao, the four-year-old male, and his prospective mate, five-year-old Er Shun — arrived in Canada in March on a special flight from China. They made their debut in May at the Toronto Zoo, where they will spend their first five years, before moving on to Calgary.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
