WE Day, an international series of stadium-sized live-changing events, announces the initial list of speakers and performers attending WE Day Toronto on September 28, 2017 at the Air Canada Centre. Alongside partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS, and Broadcast Partner CTV, the 10th annual WE Day Toronto will host 20,000 engaged youth and educators, and thousands more from all around the world watching live online on MTV.ca/weday. With celebrity speakers, renowned performers, and global thought leaders, WE Day Toronto will celebrate the power of young people coming together to change the world.
WE Day Toronto will be taped for a special broadcast premiering on Saturday, November 25, 2017 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV. The special encores on CTV Two on Saturday, November 25, 2017 at 10 p.m. ET, and again on Monday, December 18, 2017 at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
Hosted by Kelly Clarkson, a cast of new faces and returning favourites will take the stage this year including Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson, Andre De Grasse, Mia Farrow, Rick Hansen, Hedley, Vanessa Hudgens and Shawn Hook, Ban Ki-Moon, Gaten Matarazzo,Penny Oleksiak, Lilly Singh, George Takei, Jacob Tremblay, Alexandre Trudeau, Spencer West and more to be announced including a surprise special guest. With WE Day Toronto event hosts Tyrone Edwards, E!/Much Host; and Liz Trinnear, ETALK reporter and Much host; alongside youth hosts Hannah Alper and Tai Young, this star-studded lineup will join international activists and WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger. Together they will share their passion for change and energize the crowd with unforgettable performances and motivational speeches to define a stronger world—this year and beyond—and what people of all ages can do to make this dream a reality.
“Each and every person at WE Day Toronto is proof that this generation is standing together to make a difference in our world,” said Grammy award winning superstar, Kelly Clarkson. “I’m inspired by this family of young leaders who not only believe in themselves, but believe in each other. They’re redefining what’s possible and I’m so proud to be a part of this special day celebrating these incredible students.”
More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong educational program WE Schools. Providing schools and community groups with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, the program is designed to enhance a school’s existing social initiatives or spark new ones. WE Schools encourages students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills for success beyond the classroom. In the 2016/2017 school year, schools and groups across the province improved their communities through WE Schools, volunteering more than 1.8 million hours and raising over $6 million in support of more than 2,200 local and global causes including hunger, poverty, the environment and bullying.
“WE Day celebrates a generation of empowered youth, who have come together in the hope that the world can be better a place,” said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. “You couldn’t imagine a more incredible energy as the stadium fills with the country’s next generation of change-makers, committed to making a lasting difference across the globe. This year alone, we saw more than 3,000 schools and youth groups from across Ontario rise to the challenge of creating sustainable change, proving that together, we can make doing good, doable.”
Students can’t buy a ticket to WE Day—youth from across the country earn their way by the actions they take on one local and one global cause of their choice. This year WE Day is celebrating Generation WE—a generation filled with young people coming together to show their strength in numbers, Generation WE has the power to change local landscapes, for good. Generation WE is also about tackling global issues beyond one’s local sphere, expanding horizons to build worldwide cultural and social bridges. WE Day—the world’s largest youth empowerment event—is free of charge to students and educators across Canada, thanks to the generous support of partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS.
Over the lunch hour, WE Day will host WE run: fast like De Grasse, a special one-time outdoor event and celebration with Andre De Grasse, Canada’s fastest man. The Markham, Ontario sprinter first made a name for himself sweeping the 100m and 200m events at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games before winning medals at the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Olympics. Andre will showcase his speed against special WE Day racers, including local star students and WE Day speakers and performers, on 60m track on Air Canada Centre’s Bremner Loop. The free public event will take place during the WE Day Toronto intermission, where fans of sport and social good alike are invited to cheer on Andre and his opponents.
WE has been empowering young people to transform communities at home and around the globe for more than 20 years—and now the movement is also helping families across Canada make doing good, doable. The second annual WE Day Family event will take place on September 28, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Air Canada Centre following WE Day Toronto. Families will enjoy an evening of music and inspiration, while learning how to make their local communities, and the world, a better place. For tips and social actions that are easy to build into families’ busy lives, as well as to sign up for the weekly WE Families newsletter, visit: WE.org/we-families.
The initial list of WE Day Toronto hosts, speakers and performers in alphabetical order, announced to date includes:
Broadcast Host (and Performer): Kelly Clarkson
Event Hosts: Hannah Alper, Tyrone Edwards, Liz Trinnear, Tai Young
Speakers: Sofia Carson, Celeste and Crystal Cere, Lisa Charleyboy, Millie Davis, Andre De Grasse, Mia Farrow, Robyn Hamlyn, Rick Hansen, Craig and Marc Kielburger, Ban Ki-Moon, Bailee Madison, Gaten Matarazzo, Penny Oleksiak, Lilly Singh, George Takei, Carol Todd, Jacob Tremblay, Alexandre Trudeau, Valerie Weisler, Spencer West
Performers: Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity Marauders, Hedley, Vanessa Hudgens and Shawn Hook
The initial list of WE Day Family speakers and performers in alphabetical order, announced to date includes:
Speakers: Ashleigh and Emma Dzis, Mia Farrow, Rick Hansen, Marc and Craig Kielburger, Ban Ki-Moon, Mpumi Nobiva, Penny Oleksiak, George Takei, Carol Todd, Jacob Tremblay, Alexandre Trudeau, Valerie Weisler, Spencer West
Performers: Sofia Carson, Kenyan Boys Choir, Marlowe Stone
