Taking a multi-dimensional view of the benefits and challenges of the internet, Facebook Canada and The Walrus hope to expand the national dialogue on the Future of the Internet and its role in Canadian society through a four-part The Walrus Talks at Home event series. Each sixty-minute event will feature four thought leaders and industry experts offering different perspectives on a single topic, followed by questions from the audience. In the fall, the event series will be released as a podcast.

Let’s Talk About the Internet

Let’s Talk About the Internet is a conversation about the future of the Internet in Canada. Through discussions with experts and thought leaders, Mohit Rajhans explores the complex issues that are impacting the digital lives of Canadians today and solutions for the challenges that lie ahead.

The Walrus Talks at Home: CanCon Online

New media is built on connection and community. Digital platforms have increasingly become spaces for Canadians to produce and engage with content, and this evolution is reshaping how we perceive both Canadian content and creators.

This growing online industry is expanding our national conversations and challenging traditional models of work. The Walrus Talks at Home brings together four experts in digital content to discuss the influence, challenges, and potential of the new creator economy.

The Walrus Talks at Home: News and Platforms

“Our videos, our reporting, when we post them on Facebook, they get traction more than they would on our website. People come to the news by social media nowadays, so it would be foolish on our part to block Facebook or not to use Twitter or not to use Google. You need to build a relationship and use those platforms as tools. Once they step up and do partnerships, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Google are all willing right now to speak with publishers and strike deals, and they do that in the French and English environments. It’s only up to the editor to put them on the list and find a way to secure a new kind of relationship.”
– Brian Myles, Editor, Le Devoir

LIVE w/ The Walrus: Discussion on The Future of the Internet

As part of the Walrus and Facebook’s one-year partnership, we explored the conversations to date as part of our event series and try to find more common ground as Canada works to define the next era of the Internet.

LIVE w/ The Walrus: Discussion on The Future of the Internet was held live on Facebook and featured Michael Geist, Erin Millar, Nellie Brière, Kevin Chan, and moderated by Jennifer Hollett.

The Walrus Talks at Home: The Future of Speech Online

“One of the questions we’ve been looking at for the last twenty years is the extent to which digital technologies support or threaten democratic practice…. We look at the George Floyd situation…. We look at the Capitol Hill riots…. Digital technologies allow for communities to form. Some of those communities are positive and productive. Others, less so. And so I invite you to keep these two moments in mind when you consider the future of speech online.”
– Tamara A. Small, associate professor, Department of Political Science, University of Guelph

The Future of Speech Online was held live on Facebook and featured Kara Brisson-Boivin, Timothy Caulfield, Tamara A. Small, and Cara Zwibel.

The Walrus Talks at Home: Voices Online

“When I think of social media, when I think of the tools that we have to share our perspectives, when I think of the opportunity to use our voices, and get out of the colonial structure, the colonial narrative that ties us to just words, to a framework that so often is outside of Indigenous perspectives. There is power. There is power in reclaiming our voices.”
– Sarain Fox, Indigenous storyteller, host of RISE on VICELAND and Future History on APTN at The Walrus Voices Online Event.

Voices Online: The Power of Expression, Exchange, and Action was held live on Facebook and featured Sandra Corbeil, Sarain Fox, Ronald Niezen and Breanna Xavier-Carter.

The Walrus is proud to recognize Facebook Canada as our Future of the Internet Partner. Producing the caliber of work The Walrus is known for takes time, a great team, and resources. The contributions of Facebook as a national sponsor will help to ensure that we’re able to bring this conversation to life, although The Walrus will maintain full editorial control of the content produced by the partnership.

 Read our original press release on the launch of our partnership here. 

About The Walrus

Founded in 2003, The Walrus is a non-profit foundation dedicated to fostering conversation on matters of vital concern to Canadians. As a registered charity with an educational mandate, we publish independent, fact-based journalism, as well as fiction, poetry, visual art, and multimedia storytelling. We also produce national, ideas-focused events and train emerging professionals in publishing and non-profit management. The Walrus is committed to reflecting and serving all parts of Canada and is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed, engaged citizens.

About Facebook Canada

Founded in 2004, Facebook seeks to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. More than 24 million Canadians use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, discover what’s going on in the world, and share and express what matters to them. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. All other brand or product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.