Carney Set to Attend Keynote Speech by Former US President Barack Obama

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to attend a keynote speech by former U.S. President Barack Obama in Toronto on May 8.

The event at the Fairmont Royal York is being hosted by the progressive think tank Canada 2020 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its founding. The event is listed as private and is not open to media.

The event “will bring together a select group of leaders, partners, and supporters who have helped shape our work over the past two decades,” the think tank said in a release.

Obama made three official visits to Canada while serving as U.S. president, first in 2009 to meet with then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, then in 2010 to attend the G8 summit in Muskoka and G20 summit in Toronto, and in the summer of 2016 for a North American Leaders’ Summit with then-prime minister Justin Trudeau and Enrique Peña Nieto, the president of Mexico at the time.

Obama also spoke at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce in 2017 and 2019 after leaving office.

In his 2017 remarks, Obama said the post-war global order was being threatened by illiberal forces and an “absence of American leadership” on issues like climate change. In 2019 he discussed the role of youth in addressing climate change and the role of social media in the future of democracy.

Obama also made headlines in February 2019 when he endorsed Trudeau’s reelection on social media, writing that “the world needs his progressive leadership.” Trudeau won reelection and formed a minority government in the October 2019 federal election.

Canada 2020

According to its website, Canada 2020’s mission is to advance policies that “drive a more just, inclusive and forward-thinking Canada,”

The think tank, which identifies Carney as chair of its advisory board, has hosted a number of discussions and events with him over the years, often focused on economics.

During his role as governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020 and later as the U.N. Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, Carney promoted the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainability framework and finance policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions that aligned with the policy priorities of the Obama administration.

Canada 2020 has also featured and worked with figures connected to the Century Initiative, an organization lobbying for Canada’s population to grow to 100 million by 2100. This includes a 2021 panel discussion at the think tank moderated by Century Initiative CEO Lisa Lalande entitled, “The Case for an Ambitious Immigration Policy.”

The Century Initiative was co-founded by Canada’s current ambassador to the United States Mark Wiseman.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.