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We Day Canada: Watch the Highlights
WE dAY 2017

Justin Trudeau, Gord Downie, Lilly Singh and more spoke to a crowd of thousands about empowering youth for Canada's next 150 years.

The Ottawa Children’s Choir performs Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie’s song Secret Path at We Day on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Sunday, July 2, 2017. Downie’s project “Secret Path” tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 escaping a residential school.

Globe Staff

This article was published more than 6 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

Key moments:

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada has many reasons to be hopeful about the future
  • Gord Downie said Canada is beginning a new 150 years, and it is time to listen to “the stories of the Indigenous”
  • Craig and Marc Kielburger: “Canada 150 is more than simply sitting back on your lawn chairs”
  • Lilly Singh encouraged women to seek empowerment and equality
  • Atiya Bagha wins “The Gift to Canada Contest,” launched by The Globe and Mail and WE Charity

Get caught up:

Justin Trudeau

"What an inspiring day to come together and really prepare for the future," Mr. Trudeau told tens of thousands of people on Parliament Hill.

Living WE Justin Trudeau says he left his voice at Canada Day

Gord Downie

"Now we begin a new 150 years and we leave behind the first 150 years – the ones with [the] one big problem [of] trying to wipe out our Indigenous people, to take their minds and hearts, to give them the choice to become white or get lost," Mr. Downie said.

A youth choir performs a song from Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie’s project “Secret Path” as illustrations of Chanie Wenjack are shown on screen at We Day on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Sunday, July 2, 2017. Downie’s project “Secret Path” tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 escaping a residential school.

Living WE Gord Downie says it’s time to listen to the stories of Canada’s Indigenous peoples

Craig Kielburger

"[Canada 150] is a chance for conversation about the type of country we want to build. Every person on the stage will share their pledge how they will make the next 150 years even stronger," said Mr. Kielburger.

LIVING WE Craig and Marc Kielburger make a pledge for youth empowerment

Lilly Singh

"I just want people to know that whether it's in your schools, homes, every single day we can do something to promote gender equality," said Ms. Singh.

Living WE Lilly Singh makes a pledge at WE Day

The Gift to Canada Contest

Her nicknames are "garbage girl" and "compost queen" and Atiyah Bagha says she is okay with that. After all, she has been carrying around an 11-litre bucket of travelling "pet" worms with her for three years to help her compost the waste she and her family produces, no matter where they are.

"I've taken them from Regina to Toronto to Sudbury and now we're in Toronto again. I actually drive with them most of the time," Ms. Bagha said.

Her Gift to Canada is her attitude and ambition to encourage Canadians to live as green as possible. "I am an environmentalist, a conservationist," she said.

From Kenny Sharpe

Live WE Atiyah Bagha is the winner of The Globe and Mail’s “The Gift to Canada Contest”

The Crowd

Spectators are tangled up in confetti streamers after a performance at We Day on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Sunday, July 2, 2017

MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL:

Gord Downie and Justin Trudeau want Canada to focus on the next 150 years Downie and Trudeau presented at WE Day Ottawa, which aims to inspire the next generation of Canadians to build a stronger and more compassionate future for Canada