Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett will be addressing the Canada Strong and Free Network’s annual conference, True North has learned.
Bennett, who served as Israel’s head of government from June 2021 to June 2022 after briefly replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, will be speaking to the conference’s 1,000-plus attendees Friday morning.
Organizers kept Bennett off of the published agenda for security reasons, a source told True North, but will be announcing his participation Thursday afternoon.
Volunteers and staff for the conference were given a security briefing Wednesday given the sensitivity of Bennett’s presence.
This year’s conference has had heightened security with former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and former British prime minister Boris Johnson among the speakers, as well as Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Protests and threats against politicians since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel have increased, with several politicians now assigned RCMP protective details.
Bennett is a part of Israel’s New Right, a party he co-founded in 2018 to target religious and secular Israelis.
Bennett rose to power in 2021 after forming a coalition to oust Netanyahu after 12 years in office.
He left politics in 2022 after finishing his term.