Hillary Clinton calls Vancouver a dynamic link between East and West
Former U.S. secretary of state spoke to a record crowd in Vancouver Wednesday night
More than 2,700 people packed into Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre to see Hillary Clinton on Wednesday night, and the high-powered U.S. politician did not disappoint her audience.
The former first lady, senator, and secretary of state is the front runner to become the president of the United States in 2016, and what Clinton had to say, had many people in Vancouver interested.
Clinton had kind words for the City of Vancouver, saying Americans think it is a dynamic place that links the East and West.
The Vancouver Board of Trade won't reveal how much it cost to bring Clinton to town, but some people paid more than $400 for the best seats in the house.
Board president Iain Black says the event was the biggest in his organization's history, outselling even two past appearances by her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
"The draws from Ms. Clinton are both the prospects of what she might do, and what she has done," said Black.
Cameras weren't allowed inside, but afterwards those who watched shared their thoughts on her speech.
"We were impressed she didn't use any notes, She's obviously brilliant. We expected her to talk on some broader issues, the scope being wider, but other than that was fantastic," said one guest.
Warnings on Ukraine
One of those issues Clinton touched on was Ukraine. Earlier this week she raised eyebrows saying Russian President Vladimir Putin's military intervention was like Adolf Hitler's aggression before World War II.
In Vancouver her comments were much less pointed on Ukraine, saying she doesn't want to see Russia's takeover of Crimea drag on, like the invasion of Georgia several years ago.
She also used a great deal of her talk encouraging women to get involved in politics, saying when women are involved, changes happen, but they need to "grow skin like a rhinoceros."
Clinton said it would be "unfair to comment" on the Keystone XL pipeline, when she was asked about the controversial issue during a question and answer session by event host Frank McKenna, a former premier of New Brunswick and a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S.
Outside the event, those in attendance were enthusiastic about the speech.
"I think she was really good. She presented really well," said one guest.
"I think overall it just was really a great night," said another.
The former secretary of state is on her way to Calgary next and will speak there Thursday.
With files from Richard Zussman