Top 10 moments of WE
With its roots stretching back over 20 years to Thornhill, Ontario, the WE movement is in schools and communities in every province and territory across the country. Now a truly global phenomenon, empowering young people in the United States and throughout the United Kingdom while working in developing communities around the world, WE remains to this day proudly Canadian. Want proof?
The cupboards in our Toronto head office are stocked with maple syrup, eh. Need more? Here’s a rundown of WE’s proudest Canadian moments.
1995 – 12-year-old Craig Kielburger pressures then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to put child labour on his agenda at a meeting in India, gaining national and international attention for the young human rights activist.
1995 – Craig inspires attendees to the Ontario Federation of Labour convention to raise $150,000 for international development, helping WE build 15 schools in developing communities.
1998 – At the first ME to WE camp, youth leaders come together north of Toronto for a summer of games, social-issue workshops and training.
2003 – WE Schools partners with the first of many Canadian school boards, the Toronto District School Board, the largest in the country. WE Schools now brings lesson plans and curriculums supporting service-learning and leadership to thousands of schools and hundreds of thousands of Canadian students.
2006 – WE opens an office in British Columbia, bringing WE Schools programming to thousands of BC students in its first year.
2007 – The first WE Day Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum inspires more than 7,500 young people. Boy band Hanson performs, Roméo Dallaire speaks and a wellknown former teacher, who’d later become prime minister, even graces the stage. Can you guess who?
2008 – Working with Indigenous leaders and educators, WE forms the Sacred Circle program, based on Indigenous concepts like the Seven Teachings and the Medicine Wheel. Nine years later, hundreds of Indigenous youth have found their voice as leaders through the program.
2009 – Craig and Marc participate in the Olympic torch relay in Toronto prior to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
2015 – Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau speak at WE Day Ottawa in their first public address since Justin was elected prime minister.
2016 – At WE Day Toronto, Gord Downie inspires conversations around reconciliation with his powerful performance of “The Stranger,” about the tragic death of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack. Downie takes the stage alongside Chanie’s sister, Pearl.