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Stronger Together: Wow, What A Feeling!

Sunday night’s 90-minute Stronger Together fundraising broadcast for Canada’s food banks and the

Stronger Together: Wow, What A Feeling!

By David Farrell

Sunday night’s 90-minute Stronger Together fundraising broadcast for Canada’s food banks and the Red Cross admirably saluted our nation’s frontline workers but as an industry, we must also offer a salute to the creative that pulled this heartfelt and informative tribute together as well.


A big part of the show’s strength came from the artists who performed. The opening segment with Michael Bublé, Barenaked Ladies and Sofia Reyes' harmony-soaked samba, Gotta Be Patient (enjoy the confination) – and songbird Sarah McLachlan’s rendition of Paul McCartney’s Blackbird sparkled. And there were others, too; Measha Brueggergosman’s elastic rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone was as riveting as it was unique, and there were several other noteworthy mini-performances –  but this is a broad brushstroke on a canvas that focusses on the sum of the parts.

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There were others too, but also in the cast a network of people we might never have known but daily help keep the necessary machine parts working in hospitals, hospices, hostels, food banks, city-wide transportation services. The bare-bone nuts and bolts that deliver the mail, safeguard our interests, keep the barest of essentials in place as the many of us stay mostly in our homes.

The essential workers, paid and those who quietly volunteer, were given a face and a voice in this very Canadian show, and then the camera’s eye focussed on people like George P. Allen­–a Bridgewater NS resident who lived through the Spanish Flu epidemic and was clear of voice at age 107–and Jemima Westcott from Napanee, ON who is 109 years of age.

At the very top of the broadcast there was that great Canadian humorist Rick Mercer, uniting us all in paying our respects to all those whose lives have been forever darkened by the murderous tragedy that took place in Nova Scotia last weekend past.

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Stronger Together was also a unique moment of unfettered solidarity by the many who pulled the complex parts together to make it a show of which we can all be proud. It afforded us a  snapshot of a quiet Canadian spirit at large. It showcased the many faces, voices, ethnicities, languages and colours that collectively make us who we are as a society in an age savaged by partisan politics and seeded with disharmony. Stronger Together offered us hope that there is another way and in a very Canadian way that isn't brazen, patronizing or bullying.

Hats off to Tyler Shaw and Fefe Dobson who were responsible for the pre-taped ensemble performances that came together in unity to perform Bill Withers’ Lean On Me. A perfect choice that bridged audiences, and captured the essence of what the show Stronger Together was all about.

As the clock drew the show to its close we had the PM speaking to the nation in a non-partisan voice–and at the close a seemingly humble and reflective Drake at home in Toronto speaking the Queen’s English without affectation and offering a rare show of humility that addressed his situation that wasn’t that dissimilar to that shared by us all.

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Then there were the crews responsible for fitting this jigsaw together in record time. That would be Randy Lennox, Lindsay Cox, John Brunton, Mike Cosentino and Tyson Parker and the many broadcasters who put differences aside to stand stronger together for a spectacle that made us all so proud to be a part of in some way.

Bravo!

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Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Mo Chara, DJ Provaí and Móglaí Bap of Kneecap performs on the West Holts Stage during during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England.

Music News

Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians

The Irish rap trio went after the Norwegian government over its investments, which are currently under scrutiny, at Øyafestivalen.

Irish rap group Kneecap – which has drawn a storm of criticism, support, attention and legal action over the past half-year – continued to speak out about the war in Gaza during an afternoon set at the Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway, on Friday (Aug. 8).

Right before the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí took the stage, an English-language white-text-on-black-background message played on a video screen, accusing the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” against the Palestinian people via investments held in the county’s sovereign wealth fund (referenced as “oil pension fund” in the message). “Over 80,000 people have been murdered by Israel in 21 months,” the band’s message continued. “Free Palestine.” The message was greeted readily by a cheering audience. Most estimates (including those from health officials in the area) place the Palestinian death toll at more than 60,000. That number does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas militants. An estimated 18,500 of those killed were children.

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