Sarah Palin to speak on family and community in Ontario tonight

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Sarah Palin will speak in Canada this evening at a Hamilton, Ontario black-tie fundraising dinner:

Tickets were priced at $200 and all 850 have been sold for what is being billed as "An Intimate Evening with Sarah Palin."

Palin is expected to speak for at least 20 minutes followed by a question-and-answer session with Connie Smith, a veteran Hamilton TV personality.

"She has talking points," said Dennis Concordia, a spokesman for CARSTAR Automotive Canada, one of the event's sponsors. "It's going to be all about community and the role of family in society, because first and foremost, she's a mother."

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There is growing speculation that Palin, a champion of the conservative Tea Party movement in the U.S., is considering a run for the U.S. presidency in 2012.

A portion of the proceeds from the event — originally slated to go to two area hospitals — will be donated to a Charity of Hope, a Hamilton children's organization that supports United Way, Kiwanis Boys and Girls clubs and the YMCA.

Organizers hope ticket sales, along with a silent auction of books and posters autographed by Palin — who recently joined Fox News as a pundit — will help raise at least $25,000.

Although Gov. Palin's speech will be about the importance of family and community, she is also expected to talk about Canadian and U.S. relations. Still organizers say they don't believe her address will be very political.

Most of the tickets were sold to Ontario residents but some Americans from New York and Michigan are headed north to attend the charity event.

- JP