Protest plans force Bush to curtail Ottawa visit

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TORONTO -- President Bush won't have to rescue his Secret Service bodyguards during his upcoming visit to Canada as he did recently in Chile, Canadian security officials said.

But with thousands of protesters expected to demonstrate against Mr. Bush, the White House decided to cut short his visit to Ottawa and travel to Halifax instead.

Mr. Bush is expected to be in Canada on Tuesday and Wednesday on his first official visit to the country since his re-election.

In Canada, Mr. Bush is considered the least popular U.S. president in recent history, and anti-Bush protesters of all stripes and political persuasions are planning massive rallies in the capital, Ottawa.

Tens of thousands are expected to brave the cold to protest Mr. Bush's policies in the Middle East and the proposed missile-defense program.

Even the Canadian Parliament wasn't considered a safe enough ground by White House officials.

Stephen Harper, who leads the Conservative Party and is the head of the official opposition, speculated Wednesday that Mr. Bush declined to address the Parliament for fear of heckling by members of left-wing opposition parties.

But Canadian security officials said there would be no repeat of the Saturday incident in Chile, when Mr. Bush had to intervene to stop a shoving match between Chilean security officials and Secret Service agents who were accompanying him to a state dinner.

Chilean security had tried to stop several members of Mr. Bush's security detail from accompanying him to a dinner with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit's 21 leaders.

"This won't happen in Canada," said Cpl. Monique Beauchamp, spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada's national police force.