Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer will be speaking at a conservative-leaning conference in Ottawa this week as the federal election campaign continues.
The Canada Strong and Free Network Conference — hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network, which claims to be a non-partisan organization with “conservative principles and values” — is scheduled to run from Wednesday to Friday.
It includes appearances by Smith and Lighthizer, who was a key proponent of tariffs during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.
The Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit conference is also taking place in Ottawa from Wednesday to Friday and features appearances by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Matthias Ecke, a member of the European Parliament and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
These events are being held as federal party leaders continue campaigning across Canada.
A new Leger poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, suggests that if the federal election were held today, 44 per cent of respondents would vote for the Liberals, 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservatives and eight per cent would back the NDP.
Smith has come under fire for telling U.S. media that the White House should pause the tariffs until after the election and suggesting that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is “very much in sync” with the Trump administration.
— With files from Dylan Robertson
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2025.
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
