Liberal party convention set to hear from Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jean Chretien

OTTAWA –

Former U.S. secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is set to take the stage at the Liberal party convention this evening for a conversation with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

She is expected to draw a big crowd, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not be in the room as he travels to attend the King’s coronation in London.

Former prime minister Jean Chretien and Francois-Philippe Champagne are scheduled to address the party faithful in the lead-up to Clinton’s appearance.

Trudeau told reporters this morning that Canadians will be faced with a clear choice in the next election, between fear and anger or a more positive vision — echoing the way Democrats painted Clinton’s 2016 run against former president Donald Trump.

The prime minister also borrowed a phrase of Clinton’s in his address to the convention crowd on Thursday evening.

He said Canadians must be there for each other through difficult times with “clear eyes” and “steady hands,” phrases Clinton used in 2016 when she asked Americans to come together after 49 people were killed at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May, 5, 2023.