Obama to speak in T.O. on global citizenship
Ex-president’s appearance comes as Trump continues to dismantle his legacy
OTTAWA— Former U.S. president Barack Obama will speak on global citizenship in Toronto on Sept. 29 at a time when all eyes are on his Oval Office successor, Donald Trump.
Hosted by Canada 2020, a nonprofit, left-leaning, Ottawa-based think-tank, Obama will speak at a lunchtime event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
It will be Obama’s second visit to Canada since leaving the White House.
Now on the speakers’ circuit, Obama participated in a similar event in Montreal in June.
As with the earlier appearance, Obama is expected to answer questions from a moderator after the speech.
And, as then, access will be for those who can afford the steep cost.
Individual tickets are not available, but tables of 10 will be sold starting Tuesday, at $10,000 a pop.
Alex Paterson, a spokesperson for Canada 2020, said the organization expects anywhere from 3,500 to 6,000 people to be interested in what could be “one of the biggest political events of the year.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not expected to attend, “to my knowledge,” Paterson said.
Trudeau and his top aides dined privately with Obama in June after his Montreal appearance, where Obama spoke about local and global political engagement to a crowd of 6,000.
At the time, Trudeau’s government was distinguishing itself from Trump’s on immigration, free trade and climate change.
His dinner with Obama was not announced on the prime minister’s public itinerary, but was later show- cased on social media feeds.
At the time, Obama didn’t mention Trump by name but lamented the “temporary absence of American leadership” on climate change and won applause when he said, “I’m convinced the future does not belong to strongmen.”
Given Trump’s systematic dismantling of Obama’s legacy — including Tuesday’s decision to rescind an order that gave temporary work permits to so-called Dreamers, or undocumented adult children of illegal immigrants — the Toronto speech could well prompt a more pointed critique by the 44th U.S. president of the 45th.