Corporate and agency buyers from companies including Soster, Howden Group, Ulterior Events, eveology and Cheerful Twentyfirst joined micebook and Destination Canada last Tuesday (20 September) for a night of storytelling, celebrating cultures and heritages across Canada.

Hosted at new London venue Middle Eight, the evening event was part of Canada Week, which saw Destination Canada and its partners hold their first in-market events for the MICE market since 2019.

Representatives from destinations across Canada including Ottawa, Edmonton, St Johns, Quebec, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Whistler and more took part in the event.

The focus of the evening was to share Destination Canada’s sustainability journey, with a particular focus on cultural sustainability and heritage conservation.

Virginie De Visscher, Senior Director of Business Development at Destination Canada updated guests on the latest sustainability news and initiatives, including the launch of the Canadian Business Events Sustainability Plan, a new national program aimed at improving the economic, social, and environmental sustainability practices of business events hosted in Canada.

She shared how the plan will benchmark where Canadian cities are at today in terms of their existing sustainability initiatives, which will be used to measure and track change in the years to come.

The preservation of indigenous cultures and traditions is an important part of Destination Canada’s sustainability commitment. Guests were treated to a cultural performance of singing and drumming followed by a fireside chat with Matricia Brown, founder of Warrior Women, where she shared her personal story and how corporate events can play an important role in preserving cultures (read our separate article here).

Check out our gallery of photos from the evening (Credit: Baz Seal)