Tucker Carlson to meet Premier Smith during Alberta speaking tour today
Controversial US political commentator and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson will be speaking in Alberta today, with stops in both Calgary and Edmonton.
In late 2023, it was announced that Carlson would speak in Calgary, ending with a conversation between him and Premier Danielle Smith.
That announcement sparked a wave of backlash online, including an online petition to keep Carlson out of Canada. However, the former news anchor proved popular with Albertans, as the Calgary event sold out within days, resulting in an Edmonton show being added.
Carlson’s popularity took off with his nightly Fox News program, Tucker Carlson Tonight, where he gained widespread attention by bringing far-right talking points to the mainstream. He was let go from the Fox News program in 2023 and has been hosting a talk show on X since.
He has faced criticism for his anti-immigration statements, anti-LGBTQ remarks, and downplaying of the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill in 2021. He was also singled out in a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over claims that the 2020 US presidential election was rigged.
Speaking with him at the Edmonton event are two guest speakers, including media mogul and columnist Conrad Black, who was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007 and spent three and a half years in prison. He was pardoned in 2019 by then-US president Donald Trump.