ORLANDO, Fla. — The very mention of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s name provoked a loud chorus of boos Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
The jeers came during a keynote speech by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Nome, who boasted that her state stayed open during the COVID pandemic when others shut down their economies and locked down their populations.
She urged the partisan crowd to fight against what she sees as continuing government overreach and a cancel culture that threatens free speech and other freedoms.
To make her point she said Canada has gone down a dangerous road.
“If you think cancel culture is bad right now wait until they force financial institutions into freezing your account because of something you said on Facebook,” said Noem.
“It’s already happening in the world and I’m not talking about Communist China’s social credit system. I’m talking about Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister,” she said as the room reverberated with a loud chorus of boos.
Kristi Nome
“Trudeau froze truckers’ bank accounts and cancelled insurance on trucks. He used anti-terrorism finance laws to cover crowdfunding platforms like GiveSendGo.”
Noem said free people must continue to fight for their democratic rights against a left-wing movement that wants to erode those rights.
“The left divides us based on our differences.
Conservatives? We unite around our shared values.
“The left crushes free speech. Conservatives celebrate free expression.
”The left says America is racist and that it’s evil.
“Conservatives know America is not the sum of our past mistakes.”
Noem is among several high-profile conservative speakers at the conference, including Sen. Ted Cruz, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and ex-president Donald Trump.
Florida’s Ron DeSantis condemns Canada’s COVID-fighting measures by Kerry Diotte
DeSantis: “I really believe if Florida had not led the way, this country could look like Canada”
The first CPAC conference took place in 1974, and the annual event is billed as the largest conservative conference in the world.
This year’s theme is “Awake Not Woke.”
Kerry Diotte is a Conservative activist who was a member of Parliament from 2015 to 2021 in the riding of Edmonton Griesbach. He’s a former city councillor and long-time journalist. For interview requests, click here.
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