Former President Barack Obama coming to Toronto

The 44th president of the United States is coming to Toronto next month to share his thoughts on the state of the world and look ahead to better times when the U.S. and Canada can again come together with “shared purpose and conviction.”

The event, to be held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on May 8, is being presented by Canada 2020, a progressive think tank that produces original research, hosts events and podcasts, convenes influential voices and advances policy thinking that, it says, drives a more “just, inclusive, and forward-looking Canada.”

It was founded in 2006, two years before Obama was elected president.

Obama, a Democrat, served two terms as president, becoming the first Black president of the United States in 2008. He was re-elected to a second term in 2012.

The organization said the evening will be a time to reflect on “how far we’ve come and look ahead to what’s possible when our community comes together.”

“The mission that has guided us from the start remains as important – and urgent – as ever.”

Obama, who has consistently been ranked among the most respected presidents by Canadians, was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961. According to the Obama Foundation, the former president graduated from Columbia University in New York City and then moved to Chicago, where he became a community organizer.

He went on to attend Harvard Law School and became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from Harvard, he became a civil rights attorney and married Michelle Robinson in 1992.

He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and then to the United States Senate in 2004. During his eight years in office, he passed the Affordable Care Act and received a Nobel Peace Prize.

Post-presidency, he runs the Obama Foundation with his wife, Michelle. On its website, the organization says it “seek[s] to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play.”

Obama visited Canada three times as president and endorsed former prime minister Justin Trudeau in two federal elections — once in 2019 and again in 2021.

Obama has also visited Canada in non-official capacities and is rumoured to have enjoyed a meal at Summit Garden (located in the Dundas and Winston Churchill area in Mississauga) back in 2003 when he was in town for a wedding.

Canada 2020’s 20th Anniversary Gala: An Evening with President Barack Obama will bring together a select group of leaders, partners, and supporters who have helped shape the group’s work over the past two decades.