A key conservative influencer in American politics and the architect behind Project 2025, a controversial proposal for a major reorganization of the U.S. government, was scheduled to address Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet in a private session but has canceled his trip.
Carney and his team are currently in the Greater Toronto Area for meetings preceding the fall parliamentary session. Among the planned speakers was Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has influenced Republican administrations since the 1980s.
The Heritage Foundation spearheaded Project 2025, a detailed manifesto aiming to establish an ultra-conservative government with support from over 100 like-minded organizations. The plan includes contentious measures such as dismissing numerous permanent civil servants in favor of appointed loyalists, eliminating the Department of Education, and withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from circulation. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of traditional married couples as the optimal family structure for raising children.
Despite the initial invitation, a spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Dr. Roberts would not be attending the session but expressed intentions for future engagements with him and other prominent U.S. policy figures to discuss Canada’s economic and security ties with the United States.
Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Roberts characterized the current American landscape as undergoing a “second American Revolution,” emphasizing the need for a peaceful transition if the left permits it.
Project 2025 is centered on four primary objectives: reinforcing the family’s role in society, dismantling bureaucratic structures, safeguarding national borders and sovereignty, and upholding individual liberties as granted by God. Critics have labeled it as an authoritarian playbook and a far-right attack on America, according to The Centre for American Progress.
The document was conceived before U.S. President Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination. Although Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, he later welcomed several of its authors into his administration, aligning some of his policies with the plan’s objectives.
The invitation to Roberts was extended based on his familiarity with the Trump administration’s strategies and influence. Notably, Roberts is featured in a book titled “Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America,” which includes a foreword by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Additionally, Carney’s cabinet will receive insights from former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, now serving as the Australian ambassador to the U.S., who will discuss China’s ascent and evolving global power dynamics.
The cabinet agenda includes presentations from pollster Jean-Marc Léger on national sentiment, Scotiabank’s Jean-François Perrault on economic forecasts, and representatives from private sector entities, including a venture capital firm specializing in artificial intelligence.