The Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit brings together thought leaders, movement builders, elected officials, and frontline activists to help us understand our current landscape.
Save the Date!
The 2026 Progress Summit: Defending Democracy Across Borders will take place at the Delta Hotel City Centre Ottawa from Wednesday, March 4th to Friday, March 6th.
Defending Democracy Across Borders
For Ed Broadbent, “to be humane, societies must be democratic – and, to be democratic, every person must be afforded the economic and social rights necessary for their flourishing.”
Today, democracy is under threat in Canada and around the world. After decades of neoliberal erosion of economic and political institutions, democratic power has given way to market power. The effect of this erosion is felt in Canada and around the world as anti-democratic forces fill the void, bringing forward far-right political movements that seek to restore neoliberalism by blaming outsiders for the worst effects of its stagnation.
We must ask how do we defend democracy against anti-democratic forces? How do we fulfill its promise to restore trust in democratic processes and institutions? What should democracy look like in society, in the workplace, and across the economy? How do we defend journalism and press freedom against attacks and displacement by corporate interests? How do we build an internationalist solidarity with democratic forces around the world, in order to defend Canadian sovereignty and democracy?
In this 2026 Progress Summit, we look to those defending democracy in Canada, and to our progressive allies abroad, for lessons and answers on how to do just that.