WASHINGTON - Justin Trudeau will be referring to a famous U.S. presidential speech today, when he appears in the venue where it was delivered more than 50 years ago.

He'll start the final day of his three-day trip to Washington by laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery. He'll also speak to a think-tank event before he heads home from a trip that will be remembered for the first U.S. state dinner for a Canadian leader in 19 years, where hundreds of people came to the White House lawn to hear friendly banter between him and President Barack Obama.

The prime minister will also conduct a question-and-answer session with students at American University.

It's where John F. Kennedy delivered the most famous anti-war speech of his presidency, and one of the most famous bits of oratory in American history that led to a nuclear test-ban treaty.

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The Canadian government says Trudeau was invited to speak there, and the Kennedy connection is incidental.

He's also foregoing a formal speech there and instead intends to participate in a free-flowing exchange with the students. Still, he apparently intends to draw attention to the lessons of that June 10, 1963 address.

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"I'm sure the PM will reference (it)," said a government official.

The speech was remarkable for its time, delivered at the height of the Cold War on the heels of the Cuban missile standoff.

It was hastily assembled with few American officials consulted by Kennedy's staff, and specifically designed to humanize the Russian rival and draw attention to the rival countries' shared humanity.

It includes a number of memorable lines that were politically unusual for their time, and which left the Soviets pleasantly surprised at the offer of detente:

-Kennedy insisted he didn't desire a peace where the U.S. dominated others: "I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living."

-"Our problems are manmade; therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants."

-"Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are all mortal."

WATCH: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Barack Obama arrive for state dinner
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The story of that speech is captured in a new book by Canadian author Andrew Cohen. "Two Days In June" describes a hectic couple of days where the Kennedy White House cobbled together two of his most important speeches: one on civil rights, and the one called "A Strategy for Peace," which eventually became known as the "American University Speech," or "the Peace Speech."

Cohen said the institution has a special history, having been opened by Woodrow Wilson and hosted two other presidents.

"In 2015, Barack Obama, understanding the importance of Kennedy's speech, went to American University to defend the multi-party nuclear arms pact with Iran," Cohen said in an email.

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"There, he channelled Kennedy, talking about taking a chance on peace. Today, Justin Trudeau walks in their footsteps."

While the threats have changed since Kennedy's day, the current climate of fear over Islam-inspired terrorism was a constant theme of the prime minister's trip.

He repeatedly warned against letting fear of foreigners destroy the opportunities presented by globalization and the flow of people across borders.

Obama picked up on the theme in his own remarks. He was asked about the Republican primary and blasted the party in a campaign dominated by talk about expelling Mexicans; banning Muslim travellers; and in the case of Donald Trump ripping up trade deals.

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"I'm absolutely persuaded that we cannot put up walls around a global economy, and that to sell a bill of goods to the American people and workers that if you just shut down trade, somehow your problems would go away, prevents us from actually solving some of these big problems about inequality and the decline of our manufacturing base and so on," Obama said.

He saluted the prime minister's message of "hope and change," predicting he'd have a bright future ahead.

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During a state dinner toast late Thursday, Obama also mentioned the past.

He referred to Pierre Trudeau's immigration policies that he credited with helping his brother-in-law immigrate to Canada, meet his sister, and provide him with a nephew and niece.

He referred to Richard Nixon once predicting during a state dinner toast in 1972 that baby Justin would be prime minister some day.

And Obama mentioned that the prime minister's mother Margaret was at her first state dinner since 1977. He credited her work on mental health, drawing an emotional standing ovation from guests including Trudeau.