The Real Influencers (of Canada)

Gabrielle Bouchard
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Why a Podcast about Canadians who are bringing people together? Since launching my YouTube channel Gabby on Government in 2020, I’ve been drawn to one central question: how does positive change actually happen? The clearest answer I’ve found is this: positive change needs a strong democracy—and strong democracies require real, in-person connection. Research from political scientist Robert Putnam has shown a powerful link between healthy communities and the everyday relationships that build trust over time—through simple things like sports teams, volunteering, neighbourhood groups, and professional associations. If our democracy is going to continue to thrive, we need to bring people together in new ways that fit modern life. But in today’s world, connecting in person is harder than it should be. Technology has accelerated disconnection in some ways—but in my experience, people still want to come together, build trust, and work on things that matter. That’s what The Real Influencers of Canada is about: highlighting people who are doing exactly that, and sharing the stories and practical ideas that others can use too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    The Power of the Mom Group - Andrea France

    All over the world, a quiet force is shaping communities: mom groups. They may look quaint from the outside, but they have real reach and real influence. Andrea France runs Moms Niagara, a community of more than 14,000 mothers across the Niagara region who connect online and in person. She started it with twins a few months old and a two-year-old at home. One day she wondered why moms couldn’t just get out for coffee or a winery visit the way they used to. So she made it happen. In this episode, Andrea and Gabby talk about: -Turning a “lightning bolt” idea into action, and starting before you feel ready -Building a sold-out summit for female entrepreneurs in a matter of weeks -Why new moms need a village outside their own families, especially when they’re new to a community -What hunter-gatherer societies can teach us about how isolated modern mothers have become -How a mom group partners with local businesses and raises money and food for organizations like Birchway Niagara and Jillian’s Place -Pushing back against “bounce-back culture,” and the untapped power of mothers to advocate for change If you’ve ever felt alone in early parenthood, or wondered where real community gets built today, this conversation is for you. The Real Influencers of Canada is a show about the people quietly building the connections that hold our communities, and our democracy, together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Power of the Mom Group - Andrea France

  2. Oct 8

    Transforming a Big Box Mall into a Walkable Urban Centre

    Transforming a Big Box Mall into a Walkable Urban Centre In 2020, Matt Pinder and his wife moved to South Keys, a suburb in the south end of Ottawa. They lived right across the street from a transit station, but getting there meant walking through a big box mall and its parking lot, then crossing a busy, fast road. Within nine months they bought a car. Matt is a transportation planner, and the experience left him wondering what it takes to build grassroots support for walkable places, beyond an official plan written by planners. He started small. He wrote a blog post reimagining South Keys Centre and shared it in his community Facebook group. Then he hosted a Zoom meeting that drew 30 neighbours. At the end he asked if anyone wanted to take it further, and eight people said yes. That became Better South Keys Centre, a volunteer group working to turn the mall into a walkable urban centre. The group has led walking tours and built a relationship with their councillor. One stormwater pond walk drew 60 people, including a Scouts group. Now they’re getting ready to help design the first public park the mall has ever had. Matt tells Gabby about growing up roaming free on his bike north of Kingston. He describes the three weeks in Amsterdam that changed how he saw an engineer’s role, and how walking and a waterfront walking group helped his grandfather recover and keep going into his 90s. They discuss how suburban streets have taken away kids’ independence, and why you’ll run into a neighbour at the corner store but almost never at Walmart. They also talk about how zoning reform could create the third places a healthy democracy depends on. Matt closes with practical advice for anyone who wants to improve their own neighbourhood: get to know your councillor, find out what the city already plans for your area, and pick one thing to rally around. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Transforming a Big Box Mall into a Walkable Urban Centre

  3. Oct 1

    Nobody Wants to Isolate Their Kid - Jenny Perez

    Nobody Wants to Isolate Their Kid In 2023, before The Anxious Generation came out and before Australia moved on a social media age minimum, Jenny Perez told her husband she was going to take on kids and smartphones. She already had senior parents, a young daughter, a small business, and a team to run. He knew she wasn't asking permission. That decision became Unplugged Canada. It started with a simple pledge: parents promise not to give their kids a smartphone before 16, and once five families in a grade sign, the pledge goes live. The idea was to take away the hardest argument parents face, "but everybody else has one," by building a cohort in every grade of every school. Unplugged is now in more than 1,000 schools. It has also grown into a national advocacy push for a social media minimum age, with Jenny in rooms with ministers and senators. Jenny tells Gabby how growing up in Lima, and later spending time in rehab centres supporting family, taught her that addiction doesn't discriminate. She came to see the same patterns in the technology we hand our kids. They talk about why children don't stand a chance against algorithms that adults struggle to resist, how the pledge has rebuilt the village at her own school, and why she shows up to Parliament Hill as a frustrated parent rather than someone asking for a favour. Jenny also explains why she has reduced every hard choice to two paths, and why change always starts with just one other person, then three, then thousands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Nobody Wants to Isolate Their Kid - Jenny Perez

  4. Season 1 Trailer

    Trailer for The Real Influencers of Canada

    Conversations about community, connection, and how everyday people strengthen Canada's democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Sep 18

    It's Hard to Pray on an Empty Stomach - Kulvir Gill

    It's Hard to Pray on an Empty Stomach In 2008, Kulvir Gill ran a workshop at a Sikh youth retreat on a simple question: what would it take to bring langar, the community kitchen at the heart of every gurdwara, out into the wider world? When it wrapped up, he thanked everyone and got ready to move on. The room had other plans. They asked when they were actually going to do it. The next week, about 70 people showed up at his house. That accidental beginning became Seva Food Bank. Kulvir, a strategy professional in the mining sector and recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, tells Gabby how a group of lawyers, engineers, and accountants realized they were out of their depth, stepped back to learn what their community actually needed, and built a food bank rooted in the belief that everyone who walks through the door, whether to get food, give food, or volunteer, is part of the same family. They talk about faith as a way of thinking beyond yourself, why "selfless service" is often deeply rewarding for the people doing it, how any of us is three hard knocks away from needing help, and the unexpected partnership that turned Seva into a "farm team" for Peel Regional Police. Kulvir also shares what it's like to lead from the back, and his challenge to every listener: skip the mushy middle and find the thing that makes you say hell yes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    It's Hard to Pray on an Empty Stomach - Kulvir Gill

  6. Sep 18

    Everyone Needs More Dancing - Anna Jahn

    Everyone Needs More Dancing Anna Jahn grew up clubbing in 1990s Berlin. Then came university, two kids by 25, and a life in Canada where dance floors started at midnight and didn't feel built for someone like her. She missed it. Not because she's a great dancer (she insists she isn't), but because she missed the feeling of losing herself in music surrounded by friends. So after one wine-fuelled book club night, she proposed a new kind of gathering: start early, bring two songs that make you dance, and follow one rule. No talking. Just dancing. That kitchen party became Le Club Pop-Up. It moved to her garage, then to rented venues in Ottawa, and now to regular club nights in Montreal alongside the DJ collective Cocktail Sonore. Today, the crowd ranges from 19 to 75, and Anna's own daughter has worked the door. Gabby and Anna talk about why clubbing has faded for Millennials and Gen Z, how the pandemic wiped out venues, the difference between the awe of a stadium concert and the connection of a small sweaty room, and why the secret to community building is doing something you genuinely enjoy. Plus: Anna's advice for starting your own dance night, even if all you have is a garage and a playlist. Thank you to Action Canada Fellow Darren Fung from Stinky Rice Studios for the music! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Everyone Needs More Dancing - Anna Jahn

  7. Sep 18

    Introduction to The Real Influencers of Canada

    Before we meet the people bringing Canadians together, host Gabrielle Bouchard shares why she started this podcast in the first place. It starts with a surprising idea from political scientist Robert Putnam. When Italy handed identical powers to twenty very different regions, some thrived and others struggled. The difference wasn't wealth, education, or politics. It was whether people joined things: choirs, hiking clubs, soccer leagues, cooperatives. Putnam called it social capital, and it turns out to be one of the foundations of a strong democracy. The trouble is that Canadians are joining less than ever. Gabby looks at what that means for our democracy, why it's showing up in our loneliness and happiness rankings, and why this issue is personal for her as a parent working from home in a sprawling suburb. The good news: people across Canada are finding new ways to bring us together that fit modern life. This season, you'll hear from Anna Jahn, Kattie Laur, Andrea French, Kulvir Gill, Jenny Perez, Nick Clayton, Alex Fiddes, and Matt Pinder about how they made the leap from going it alone to building community, plus a bonus conversation with democracy expert Peter McLeod. Mentioned in this episode: Making Democracy Work and Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam; the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on loneliness and isolation; the World Happiness Report. Thank you to Action Canada Fellow Darren Fung from Stinky Rice Studios for the music! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Introduction to The Real Influencers of Canada
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    6 Episodes

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About

Why a Podcast about Canadians who are bringing people together? Since launching my YouTube channel Gabby on Government in 2020, I’ve been drawn to one central question: how does positive change actually happen? The clearest answer I’ve found is this: positive change needs a strong democracy—and strong democracies require real, in-person connection. Research from political scientist Robert Putnam has shown a powerful link between healthy communities and the everyday relationships that build trust over time—through simple things like sports teams, volunteering, neighbourhood groups, and professional associations. If our democracy is going to continue to thrive, we need to bring people together in new ways that fit modern life. But in today’s world, connecting in person is harder than it should be. Technology has accelerated disconnection in some ways—but in my experience, people still want to come together, build trust, and work on things that matter. That’s what The Real Influencers of Canada is about: highlighting people who are doing exactly that, and sharing the stories and practical ideas that others can use too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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