Donald Trump thinks that Canada is for sale. In this momentous anthology and event, some of our nation’s leading cultural figures gather to respond: This is Canada; never the 51st state. Capturing the swell of pride and unity that is spreading across the country, along with the shock of facing down the threat of American imperialism, Elbows Up! Canadian Voices of Resilience and Resistance editor Elamin Abdelmahmoud will host a panel conversation on this pivotal moment in our country’s history with some of the book’s esteemed and influential contributors: Jen Sookfong Lee, David Moscrop, Niigaan Sinclair, and Leslie Hurtig.
Presented in partnership with Penguin Random House Canada.
This event is open to everyone, and has been curated with the Pro-D day for teachers in mind. Teachers may be interested in the following information. This event is also suitable for students in grades 10–12.
Themes: Pro-D, literary fiction, nonfiction, politics, imperialism, culture, identity
Curriculum Connections: Literary Studies 10-12, Explorations in Social Studies 11, Political Studies 12, Contemporary Indigenous Studies 12
More information about the Festival:
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Event Participants:
ELAMIN ABDELMAHMOUD is the host of CBC Radio show Commotion. He was a founding co-host of the CBC Politics podcast Party Lines, and he is a contributor to The National’s At Issue panel. His work has appeared in Buzzfeed News, Rolling Stone, the Globe and Mail, and others.
LESLIE HURTIG is the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Writers Fest. She has worked in a range of senior positions across the Canadian literary landscape for the last 30 years, holding roles of sales representative, publicist, rights manager and book buyer for some of North America’s great publishers and bookstores. She sits on the board of the Canadian Association of Literary Festivals and organizing committee for The Global Association of Literary Festivals.
JEN SOOKFONG LEE was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart, was a finalist for the 2024 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, City of Vancouver Book Award, and was a TODAY Show Recommended Read. Jen also wrote The Conjoined, The Better Mother, The End of East; The Shadow List; and Finding Home.
DAVID MOSCROP has a PhD in political science from the University of British Columbia. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Globe and Mail, Jacobin, and more. David offers political commentary and analysis for radio, television, and print.
NIIGAAN SINCLAIR is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation and a professor at the University of Manitoba, where he holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics in the Department of Indigenous Studies. Niigaan is a multiple nominee of Canadian columnist of the year (winning in 2018) and is a featured commentator on CBC's Power & Politics and APTN’s Truth and Politics panel. Niigaan was recently named to the “Power List” by Maclean’s magazine as one of the most influential individuals in Canada and is a former secondary school teacher who won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is an award-winning author, speaker, and curriculum developer, and was co-editor of Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (Highwater Press)—the book voted by Manitobans in the “On the Same Page” competition as the top book to read in 2012.
