After the right to abortion was called into question in the United States, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wanted to warn federal liberal activists gathered in national congress on Friday: right-wing forces are also active in Canada to roll back social achievements.
“I predict that you too will have them in your country […] people who want to take the clock, and turn it back,” said Ms.me Clinton in front of a packed house of several thousand Liberal Party of Canada supporters in Ottawa.
The one who was Secretary of State under the government of Barack Obama, and later a candidate for the 2016 presidential elections, was the guest of honor at the National Convention of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2023. She was interviewed Friday evening by the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and former journalist, Chrystia Freeland, in front of nearly 4,000 delegates.
“Make no mistake: In our country there is a significant historic struggle going on,” Hillary Clinton said of the reversal of Roe v. Wade to the United States Supreme Court. This decision last year ended the constitutional right to abortion throughout the United States.
According to her, such “forces” opposed to such fundamental rights are also present in Canada, and could take all necessary means to win in the next federal elections, scheduled for 2025 at the latest. The American politician, for example, advised liberal activists to take seriously the risk posed by misinformation and manipulated images in the form of ” deep fakes “.
“Take seriously Mr.me Clinton. […] In 2016, you saw what happened,” Chrystia Freeland said, referring to the Democratic defeat at the hands of President Donald Trump.
The Deputy Prime Minister later explicitly drew a parallel with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, stressing that we must “take seriously” his proposals which she considers shocking, such as firing the Governor of the Bank of Canada or cutting public funding of the English network of Radio-Canada.
Oppose authoritarianism
The two women also touted Canada’s feminist politics and the national $10 child care program. They spoke at length about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and their common vision in support of the Kiev camp, among other topics on which they still agreed.
“We have a former president in the United States who expresses his admiration for [le président russe Vladimir] Cheese fries, [le premier ministre Viktor] Orbán in Hungary. […] There is a sad, unfortunate development in many of our democracies, an attraction of these largely right-wing forces that undermine our institutions, attack our free press and oppress minority rights. In my country, and elsewhere”, launched Mme Clinton to a convinced crowd.
Officially, the Liberal Party of Canada has invited Hillary Clinton to its first in-person political rally since 2018 to hear her “offer her continued support for Justin Trudeau and his movement.”
Federal Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Quebec, Jean-Yves Duclos, said on Friday that to receive at the Liberal convention Mme Clinton reflects the return of good relations between Ottawa and Washington.
“It’s a sign of this new philosophy, this positive energy that exists between the Canadian and American governments. This is reflected in the values of Mrs. Clinton which are the values of the new administration. [Biden] “, he explained.
The regular price to attend this great liberal mass organized every two years was $599.
The United States in the spotlight
The relationship between Canada under a Liberal government and the American neighbor was the common thread of the first two days of the party’s national convention, launched on Thursday.
Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien punctuated his Friday evening speech with anecdotes highlighting relations with the United States. He said he reached out to former President Bill Clinton to climb a stone wall during a walk, since the latter had “eaten too many McDonald’s”.
Above all, he received a standing ovation when he recalled his refusal to engage Canada in the war in Iraq in 2003, before US President George W. Bush. The 89-year-old remembered the details of these negotiations, visibly still very proud of having made the right decision at the time.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s speech also included numerous allusions to Canada’s relationship with the governments of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Mr. Trudeau, for example, tried to ridicule his conservative opponent, Pierre Poilievre, for complaining to the American president about vaccination obligations during the pandemic.