The former president of the United States Barack Obama will be making an appearance in Montreal on the 6th of June to give an international speech to the Montreal Board of Trade. This speech will be done in honor of the city’s 375 years of existence, and is coming as part of group of international leaders and public figures, with notable individuals like Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and Hillary Clinton being present. Obama is considered an inspiration and an important history maker. This is how he was described by the Montreal Board of Trade president Michel Leblanc.
Michel Leblanc has also stated that he, and the organization, is proud to be hosting such an event that sees important figures from human rights, diplomacy, trade and economic development scenes come together to discuss the ever present changes caused by globalization. He also stated that in such times, stability and certainty is what the world is looking for and they need to combat the changes being forced on them by ever-shifting influences. Their democratic and economic models need to be able to adapt and endure.
Since he passed his presidency to Donald Trump, Obama has seen fit to maintain a lower profile and hasn’t been publicly seen doing anything noteworthy. However, this seems to be changing with his recent appearances in major events like his speech in Italy during a summit on global food.
He has been faced with some criticism for apparently asking large amounts of money for public speeches. For example, he asked for $400,000 in order to give a speech to the bankers of Wall Street. His predecessors have done similar speeches and he seems to be following in their footsteps. It is currently unknown how much he is being paid for the public speech he will be giving in Montreal.
