From Canadian Politeness to Canadian Kindness: A Information Session & Mini Workshop on Navigating Courageous Conversations
Here's the truth we need to name together:
You've been feeling it, haven't you? That gnawing sense that something's deeply wrong—in your workplace, at family dinners, in your group chats. The casual jokes about "those people." The shrugging off of violence. The "well, actually" responses when you try to name harm. The slow normalization of things that would've horrified us five years ago.
Authoritarianism doesn't announce itself with sirens. It creeps in through the conversations we're too polite to disrupt.
This workshop is for you if:
You're tired of watching harmful narratives go unchallenged because everyone's being "nice"
You want to speak up but don't know how to do it without burning every bridge
You're ready to reject Canadian Politeness 🙅🏽♀️ (the kind that lets harm slide) and practice Canadian Kindness 🙋🏽♀️ (the kind that protects community)
You understand that defending democracy isn't abstract—it happens in real conversations with real people
What we'll actually do together:
This isn't a lecture about why things are bad (you already know). It's a practical session where we'll:
Map the moment: Identify the specific conversational patterns that normalize authoritarianism in Canadian contexts
Build your toolkit: Practice responses that are kind, confident, and actually shift the dynamic
Ask Us Anything: Let's work together to think of ways to hold the moment and respond to common things you end up being up against.
We're not suggestion you to argue (unless that sparks joy for you 😉). We're building your capacity to disrupt harmful narratives with grace, redirect conversations toward truth, and model what genuine civic courage looks like.
The stakes (let's be real):
When we stay quiet because we're "unsure," afraid to offend, or convinced "it couldn't happen here," we leave space for harm to keep growing. Foreign interference, domestic extremism, climate denial, human rights violations—these threats compound when good people choose politeness over protection.
Because here's what we know: You're not the only one feeling this way. You're not the only one who wants to do something but doesn't know where to start. And you definitely don't have to figure it out alone.