Obama teases Cruz at White House state dinner

U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted improved US-Canadian relations at White House state dinner on Thursday.

By staging a lavish welcome for Trudeau, Obama turned the page on years of shaky ties with Canada, making clear the new leader is a man after his own heart.

Obama said both countries shared the ideal that if you worked hard you could do anything.

See more of Prime Minister Trudeau's visit:

Obama then asked "Where else could a boy born in Calgary grow up to run for president of the United States?" in a joke about Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's birthplace.

Trudeau, 44, the left-leaning Liberal Party leader who took power last November, thanked Obama for working to improve US-Canadian relations, including trade.

Trudeau joked that one of Canada's biggest exports was Justin Bieber.