About the Progress Gala:
For nearly a decade, the Broadbent Institute’s signature autumn event, the Progress Gala, has brought together Canada’s sharpest thought leaders for a night of insightful and inspirational dialogue on the critical issues of the day.
In an exciting new twist on an old favourite, on Thursday November 19th at 7pm EDT Progress Gala 2020: A Digital Celebration of Hope will feature 5 celebrity speakers and their incredible personal stories to inspire and entertain.
Please join us, and thousands of friends across the country, for a digital experience unlike any other.
Registration is free - please sign up for this event today!
Welcome to the Progress Gala 2020
-From Ed Broadbent and Rick Smith
For nearly a decade, the Progress Gala has brought together Canada’s progressive thought leaders for a night of entertaining discussion.
This year, of course, is different. The world we live in has changed, and we are adapting to bring the same Progress Gala energy to an online event sure to inspire. Though we won’t be able to share a meal together, we’ll be able to interact with more people than ever before, in communities right across the country.
This year, the Progress Gala is moving on-line. And it’s probably the most important Gala we’ve ever had. Because if there’s one thing this pandemic has made clear it’s that we need to come together. This year, as our country and indeed the world struggles to come to grips with the short and longer-term implications of COVID-19, we have an opportunity to lift each other up and look to a fairer and more prosperous future.
On Thursday, November 19, 2020, in partnership with The Walrus, the Broadbent Institute is very proud to offer an exciting digital experience that you won’t want to miss: An evening of moving and energizing storytelling as a tonic for these strange times.
Please register today. We’ve made this a zero cost event for you and your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues to enjoy together - so please send this along to everyone you think would be interested in attending with you.
We hope you can join us.
All the best,
Ed Broadbent
Rick Smith
The Walrus provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canadians. As a registered charity, we publish independent, fact-based journalism in The Walrus and at thewalrus.ca; we produce national, ideas-focused events, including our flagship series The Walrus Talks; and we train emerging professionals in publishing and non-profit management. The Walrus is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed citizens.
Jann Arden. A celebrated Canadian singer, songwriter, broadcaster and author, Jann Arden also lends her efforts to philanthropic causes, having worked with World Vision, Live 8, MAC Cosmetics Fashion Cares AIDS benefit and Gilda’s Club in Toronto. We are pleased to include her at our event, celebrating hope in the face of challenging circumstances.
Anand Giridharadas is the author of the New York Times best seller Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, The True American (soon to be a feature film), and India Calling. He is an editor-at-large for TIME, was a foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times from 2005 to 2016, and has also written for The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New Republic. He is a former McKinsey analyst, an Aspen Institute fellow, a visiting scholar at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, an on-air political analyst for MSNBC, and has spoken on the main stage of TED.
Sandy Hudson is the founder of the Black Lives Matter movement presence in Canada and Black Lives Matter – Toronto. Sandy also helped to found the Black Legal Action Centre, a specialty legal aid clinic, which provides direct legal services and test case litigation for Black communities in Ontario. Currently studying law at UCLA with a specialization in critical race theory, Sandy also co-hosts the Sandy and Nora Talk Politics podcast, and is co-editor of the best-selling contributed volume, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada.
Valérie Plante became mayor of Montréal on November 5, 2017. First elected city councillor in Saint-Marie district in 2013, Valérie Plante was chosen by Projet Montréal members to lead the party in 2016. Her contagious passion and energy have helped her rally people around her progressive vision. Deeply committed to participatory democracy, Valérie Plante has a bold plan for Montréal centered on increased access to public transit, improved urban planning and public services, the economy and the environment. Her commitment is to bridge the gap on these issues for all 19 city boroughs.
Waubgeshig Rice is a national best-selling author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation. He has written three fiction titles, and his short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies. His most recent novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, was published in 2018 and became a national bestseller. He graduated from Ryerson University’s journalism program in 2002, and spent most of his journalism career at CBC. He lives in Sudbury, Ontario with his wife and two sons.
Progress Gala 2020 Sponsorship Package 
The Broadbent Institute is proud to thank our Past Sponsors!
