Last night’s Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) gala glowed with aurora-inspired visual effects that brought extra magic to the celebration of Canada and its spirit of discovery and connection.

Celebrated anthropologist, explorer and author Wade Davis, podcaster, television and radio host George Stroumboulopoulos, actor Hayden Christensen, mental health advocate and author Sophie Grégoire, retired astronaut Robert Thirsk, Juno Award-winning Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark and Ottawa’s own Michelle Valberg, Canadian Geographic Photographer in Residence, were among the notable Canadians to attend an event rich in conversation and storytelling.

The gala took place at 50 Sussex, the scenic home of the RCGS. Its Alex Trebek Theatre looked especially snazzy for the formal program hosted by Ottawa-born environmental journalist and RCGS Fellow Aliya Jasmine.

Spain was this year’s featured guest country. Its embassy, represented by Ambassador Alfredo Martinez Serrano, showcased an entire room dedicated to its wines, food, culture and the famous pilgrimage trail of El Camino de Santiago, which draws thousands of Canadians each year.

Other supporters included the Canadian Telecommunications Association, represented by Robert Ghiz, former premier of Prince Edward Island, and Kevin Chan, global director and head of public policy (Canada) at Meta and a Fellow of the RCGS.

From left, Kevin Chan, global director and head of public policy (Canada) at Meta and a Fellow of the RCGS, and John Geiger, CEO of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic Enterprises, at the Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Spanish Ambassador Alfredo Martinez Serrano in conversation at the Geographica Gala with Royal Canadian Geographical Society governor Antoine Normandin, director of transportation planning at the National Capital Commission, about Spain’s popular Camino pilgrimage. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Royal Canadian Geographical Society honorary president Perry Bellegarde, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, alongside RCGS president Lois Mitchell at the Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The annual Geographica Gala raises funds to support Canadian Geographic, published by the RCGS. It’s now ranked as Canada’s number one magazine, with a monthly reach of 4.4 million readers online and in print. It also has educational programmes that reach 28,000 classroom educators and 750,000 students each year in every province or territory.

Liberal MP Mona Fortier (Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester) announced $4 million in funding for the RCGS included in the federal government budget released the day before. The funding is over four years, leading up to the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2029-2030.

“Nature isn’t just the foundation of our biodiversity; it is the soul of our cultures,” said Fortier. “It inspires our art, preserves our stories, shapes our values and brings us together.

“To protect nature is to protect who we are and to strengthen Canada’s identity and sovereignty. We must give Canadians, especially young people, the tools to understand their language, their history and their place in the world.”

Ottawa MP Mona Fortier announced $4 million in funding for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society included in the federal government budget released the day before. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Perry Bellegarde, honorary president of the RCGS and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, presented special medals to singer Susan Aglukark and two-time Polaris Prize winner Jeremy Dutcher. Bellegarde spoke about the importance of leaders carrying optimism into every room — and leaving behind more hope than they found. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society gala embodies that spirit, he added: “There is hope for a better territory, a better country and a better world if everybody comes together, cooperates, listens and pays respect.”

Michelle Valberg took the stage with fellow photographers Ryan Tidman, Audain Wildlife Conservation Fellow at Canadian Geographic, and Maxime Légaré-Vézina, Audain Emerging Photographer in Residence. They discussed, among other things, the patience required to photograph wildlife in its natural habitat. Valberg also reflected on “what a gift” it had been to host the late Jane Goodall, 91, in Ottawa for her final visit in early September. The world-renowned primatologist passed away less than a month later.

Sophie Grégoire spoke about encouraging children to engage with nature, noting that such experiences help build the neural networks needed for adult resilience. “When we engage in nature, we’re not only learning lessons in wisdom but testing our true nature and who we are as Canadians, as citizens, as humans,” she said before being officially welcomed as an RCGS Fellow by CEO John Geiger.

Mental health advocate and author Sophie Grégoire spoke at the Geographica Gala about the importance of children connecting with nature for physical, mental and emotional well-being. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Polaris Music Prize-winning Indigenous singer-songwriter Jeremy Dutcher and Juno Award-winning Inuit singer songwriter Susan Aglukark received Louie Kamookak Medals at the Geographica Gala, presented by Royal Canadian Geographical Society honorary president Perry Bellegarde. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, visual storytellers Maxime Légaré-Vézina, Ryan Tidman and Michelle Valberg spoke with host Aliya Jasmine about their wildlife images at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Jasmine introduced Wade Davis, honorary vice-president with the RCGS, as “one of the most fascinating and smartest people” she’s ever interviewed.

Among the memorable stories shared by Davis was one about his 2016 Order of Canada induction, when he was seated next to fellow recipient Bob Cole, former Hockey Night in Canada announcer. Key to doing his job well was speaking in five octaves, with the lowest for welcoming the audience and the highest for exciting goals and saves, said Davis. “I said, ‘Mr. Cole, what about the other three octaves?’”

He recalled how Cole leaned in with a twinkle in his eye and explained that they were used “to bring the fastest game in the world alive to a lonely trapper on the banks of the Yukon River, bathing in the glow and spiritual beauty of the Northern Lights.”

In other words, it was all about connecting with his audience.

World-renowned ethnobotanist and author Wade Davis on stage with Ottawa-born environmental journalist and RCGS Fellow Aliya Jasmine at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Stroumboulopoulos found himself on the other side of the mic for a change, interviewed by Jasmine, who once interned on his former MuchMusic show.

He downplayed his influence on Canadian culture, describing his approach simply as “doing his part” as a Canadian.

It’s a mindset shaped by a conversation with famed astronaut Neil Armstrong, not that he was trying to name-drop. Armstrong had said, “We’re just technicians going to the job site. No matter what the challenge is, if you think it’s bigger than that, you’ll collapse under its weight.”

Continued Stroumboulopoulos: “So I tell myself, ‘I’m just a technician going to the site.’ I really think about it a lot. I just try to do my part—that’s what I hope for.”

He also acknowledged that he didn’t set out in life to be a media personality, especially given his more solitary nature. “I had to learn as a second language how to be around people, how to be in public,” said Stroumboulopoulos, who grew up admiring Davis and Neil Young. The only television he had access to was an old set his mother had rescued from the garbage, tucked away in a closet and brought out only on Friday nights to catch a couple of shows. “I read a lot.”

George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian podcaster, television and radio host, was welcomed as a Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) Fellow by its CEO, John Geiger, at the Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The gala also featured interviews with Hayden Christensen (Star Wars) and retired astronaut Robert Thirsk. Christensen drove up from his farm in Uxbridge, north of Toronto, for the gala.

Thirsk, who’s Canada’s record-holder for time spent in space, spoke candidly about the risks of space travel, emphasizing the rewards: “Having the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream, represent my country internationally and work with the best people and organizations in the world made it worth it.”

His two recommended space-travel movies are Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 and Ridley Scott’s The Martian.

Among the other sponsors were Osiko Metals, Nancy Love, Inuit Heritage Trust, Rio Tinto, Air Canada, Parks Canada, Spirits Canada, Collective Arts and Cave Spring Wine.

Retired Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk and Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, known for his roles as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, in conversation during the Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at Royal Canadian Geographical Society headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society held its Geographica Gala on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, including its formal program in the Alex Trebek Theatre, at RCGS headquarters at 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Parks Canada CEO Ron Hallman, Meredith Brown, director of land and water relations for Canadian Geographic, and Tobi Nussbaum, CEO of the National Capital Commission, at the Geographica Gala held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Peter Boole, owner of Social Restaurant + Lounge and co-owner, along with Caroline Gosselin, of Eighteen Hospitality Group, interior designer Henrietta South, Spanish Ambassador Alfredo Martinez Serrano, and Jodie Janoska, social media manager with Eighteen Hospitality Group, at the Geographica Gala, which featured Spain as its guest country. Photo by Caroline Phillips

John Geiger, CEO of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic Enterprises, and Sophie Grégoire hug after she is welcomed as a Fellow of the RCGS at its Geographica Gala, held Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow and landscape architect Aliza Sovani, with her father, Altaf Sovani, former academic chair at Algonquin College, and her sister, environmental journalist and filmmaker, Aliya Jasmine, also a RCGS Fellow, at the RCGS’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Juno Award-winning Inuit singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark and Michelle Valberg, Canadian Geographica Photographer in Residence, at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, known for his roles as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, on stage with host Aliya Jasmine at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Spanish Ambassador Alfredo Martinez Serrano, Nadia Marshy (volunteer coordinator of the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims) and French Ambassador Michel Miraillet at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Canadian Telecommunications Association president and CEO Robert Ghiz, former premier of Prince Edward Island, speaking at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala, held at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Host Aliya Jasmine on stage with George Stroumboulopoulos at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Karen Wood, owner of KoW Connected, Rosemary Thompson, vice-president external at Canadian Geographic, and guest Deborah Lehmann, president and CEO of The Ottawa Cancer Foundation, at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Tammy Quinn, chief of staff for Students on Ice Foundation, and Liberal MP Leslie Church (Toronto—St. Paul’s) at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Abi Hayward, senior editor of Canadian Geographic, at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, known for his roles as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, on stage with host Aliya Jasmine at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mike Stawicki from The Whalesbone in oyster-shucking action at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Christian Bok, experimental poet and academic, on stage with George Stroumboulopoulos at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, known for his roles as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, was officially welcomed as a Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow by retired Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk at the RCGS’s Geographica Gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This year’s Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Geographica Gala, held at RCGS headquarters, 50 Sussex, had a relaxed feeling to the evening. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Infinity Convention Centre, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, RBC, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law.

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