TORONTO -- Five years after he left the Oval Office plagued by scandal, a charismatic Bill Clinton appears more capable than ever of commanding attention from thousands of Canadians willing to pay top dollar to hear him speak.

Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, is in Canada this week to talk about bilateral relations and leadership to an estimated audience of about 17,000 who will be attending sold-out events in Toronto, Calgary and London, Ont.

"People are still just fascinated by him, less by his presidency, more by his personality," said Don Abelson, a political science professor and co-director of the Centre for American Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

While organizers quickly clam up when asked what they paid to have the former president speak, public documents indicate he commands an average of about $160,000 US for each engagement.

Those who know Clinton say he has a unique ability to connect with an audience, someone possessed of a rare and powerful blend of charisma and intelligence.

"When he speaks, people listen," said Christian Darbyshire of TinePublic Inc., which organized Monday's forum on Canada-U.S. relations in London, Ont.

About 5,000 people, each of whom having paid between $85 and $99 per ticket, will get to hear Clinton speak for an hour, then answer questions for about 30 minutes.

On Tuesday, Clinton will talk about leadership to up to 8,000 people paying between $329 and $1,295 to attend a day-long motivational event in Toronto.

Abelson said Canadian interest in Clinton goes beyond the sex appeal of his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky or the possibility he may yet find himself living again in the White House as First Gentleman if his wife Hillary Clinton gets elected president.

Canadians saw him as an ally, "the type of American they could deal with," despite what critics considered a conservative approach to foreign policy and his checkered political record at home, said Abelson.

Since leaving the office he held from 1992 to 2000, Clinton has often been in the news for his efforts on behalf of victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and global poverty.

Canadian event organizers wax lyrical about the former Democratic president's drawing power, calling him "one of the greatest leaders in the history of presidents" and an "inspiring" presence.

"He absolutely connects with Canadians," said Pamela Putman, a spokeswoman for Power Within Inc., the motivational consulting firm behind the Toronto and Calgary shows.

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