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Barack Obama had never been to Montreal before Tuesday, but he gave this city a 375th birthday present it will not soon forget.

The former U.S. president made Montreal the first Canadian city he has visited since leaving office in January – and indeed one of the first stops anywhere since joining the international speaking circuit in political retirement.

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“Bon anniversaire,” he said in rudimentary French as he took to the stage in a cavernous room the size of an airplane hangar at the Palais des congrès. And the sellout crowd of 6,000 melted.

Obama used his speaking engagement, organized by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, to deliver a message that will surely be heard around the world.

He addressed his own disappointment and that of political, business and environmental leaders alike that the United States last week pulled out of the landmark Paris Accord, aligning itself with Syria and Nicaragua when it comes to the fight against climate change.