March 1, 2026

Message from the Executive Director

Greetings, wonderful humans!

I am deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me to lead this incredible organization. As someone who profoundly values reason, compassion, and the pursuit of a more ethical world, it is a true honor to dedicate myself to this work full-time.

The work we do—from advocacy and community building to providing meaningful life ceremonies—is more vital now than ever. When I look at the world today, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the headlines of turmoil, conflict, and the rising assaults on human rights and democracy.

But there is another side to the story. Everywhere I look, I see people rising to the occasion, standing up for what is right, and getting organized. These acts of resistance need a compass; they need a value system that promotes a human-centered approach to life’s biggest questions. The world needs Humanism.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with many of you. In those conversations, four clear themes emerged that will guide our path forward:

• Community First: Humanist Canada is, above all, about people. We must prioritize creating spaces—both virtual and physical—where we can connect, share ideas, and form lasting relationships.

• Celebrating Our Excellence: We will continue to grow and celebrate the programs that define us, specifically our world-class Officiant Program and our Chaplaincy Program.

• Bold Advocacy: We remain steadfast in our commitment to a just world, fueled by the essential principle of the separation of church and state.

• Global Leadership: We are ready to take the lead in promoting Humanism at the local, national, and international levels.

We will be exploring each of these themes in much greater detail in the coming months. This is just the beginning of our journey together, and I want it to be a collaborative one.

I invite you to join the conversation. If you would like to share your thoughts or discuss the future of our movement, please send me an email. I would love to set up a time to chat. I am eager to collaborate with our dedicated members to grow our impact from coast to coast to coast.

I’ll leave you with the words of Isaac Asimov, which feel particularly resonant today:

“Never can we sit back and wait for miracles to save us. Miracles don’t happen. Sweat happens. Effort happens. Thought happens. And it is up to us humanists to help—to expend our sweat, our effort, and our thought. Then, there will be hope for the world.”

In Humanism,

Janalee Morris

Executive Director, Humanist Canada

Humanist Canada Events

HC March Webinar

📆March 11     🕑7pm    📍 Online

Title: With Genocidal Intentions: Conversion "Therapy" in North America Today

Description: Conversion practices--commonly referred to as conversion therapy--constitute the damaging efforts to change queer individuals' sexual orientations and/or gender identities and expressions. Despite the common misapprehension that conversion practices are a thing of the past--in North America, at least--such anti-queer efforts persist and continue to wreak havoc…Learn More     

 Register Here 

Humanist Canada Annual General Meeting

📆May 3     🕑3-5pm ET     📍 Online

Save the Date!

HC Book Available in E-Format!

Our book Humanism: Canadian Perspectives is now available as an ebook for only $9.99!

You can purchase it here: English / French

You prefer paperback? Purchase your copy here.

Notre livre Humanisme : Perspectives canadiennes est maintenant disponible en format numérique pour seulement $9.99! 

Vous pouvez l'acheter ici: Français / Anglais

Vous aimez mieux le format papier? Achetez-le ici

Humanist Canada Chapter Events

Newfoundland Chapter

📆March 22     🕑1-3pm NST     📍St. John’s 

Come and engage in meaningful conversations about a variety of themes from a humanist perspective. If there is interest from humanists in NL beyond the St. John’s area, we’d love to include you via Zoom for a hybrid meeting (bring your own coffee and pastry). If you haven’t participated previously, for directions and more details please reach out to nlchapter@humanistcanada.ca. You can also find us on Facebook.

Central Ontario Chapter

📆March 24     🕑 7 - 9 PM ET     📍 Barrie, ON.

Is Religion or God Belief Useful in the 21st Century? On a day-to-day basis, does religion have a place in the modern society? We will discuss this topic after a video presentation.

Location: Murdoch · Travel 28 Currie St Unit 5 · Barrie, ON

More details on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/central-ontario-humanists/events/

Windsor Chapter

📆March 30     🕑5:30pm ET   📍 University of Windsor

Creator vs Creation: God, Faith, & Ethics in the Age of AI

Steve Ghikadis, Chapter Coordinator, will be speaking at an interfaith symposium as the humanist representative. The event is free and includes dinner. 

Register Here

Humanists Online Vancouver

We are a friendly Zoom meeting group, originally Humanists Online Vancouver (HOV), now a western chapter of Humanist Canada. We meet several times per month, always at this Zoom link

• Every Sunday, 10am PT.  All are welcome; current topics are voted in by attending members. One of those topics is discussed that day and the other scheduled for the next Sunday, advertised in advance online. Near the end of our meetings, our "organic" mode allows many topics.

• Every Wednesday, 7pm PT. A more informal Gab-Fest, Attendees enjoy camaraderie and bouncing topics.

• First Tuesday of the Month (March 2), 7pm PT. Book Club. The Next Civil War - Stephen Marche, Divisions within the US population.

• The Friday following book club (March 6). In-person gathering, 1pm PT. Please email for more information hovlane2020@gmail.com 

Want to join a local chapter? Interested in starting a new chapter? Find more information on our website. 

Never Miss a Moment!

Keep track of all our upcoming events and meeting times in one convenient place. There’s always something exciting happening—be sure to stay in the loop!

👉 Event Calendar 👈

Other Humanist Events of Interest

WeCanReason Webinar Series, Rocky Mountain Atheists

📆March 25      🕑7pm MT      📍Online

In this presentation, Kenny Biddle will go over some of the popular 'ghost hunting' gadgets used by the TV shows, YouTube channels, and many ghost hunting groups. He will give you the description of what the devices are alleged to do, then break down what they really do - or don't do - and why the methods using them are severely flawed. He will have many of the devices with him to demonstrate specific issues and flaws while you're watching. Meetup link.

Podcast for Inquiry - Centre for Inquiry Canada Podcast

Jesse Brown asks: Why are Canadian Jews targeted for hate crimes?

Jesse Brown is the founder and editor of Canadaland, Canada’s largest independent podcast network. We start our conversation talking about the state of journalism in Canada, four years after Podcast for Inquiry’s inaugural episode with Jonathan Kay on the same topic. The bulk of our conversation is focused on Jesse’s latest investigative reporting series, What Is Happening Here. Jews in Canada are the targets of hate crimes radically disproportionate to their numbers in Canada, which has been the case for many years but made worse since the start of the Hamas – Israel war. Jesse talks about why he created the series, analyzes some possible reasons why hatred against Jews is so much more pronounced in Canada than other countries, and suggests that open and honest conversations are a necessary step toward living together in peace and harmony.