Explore every episode of the podcast The Real Influencers (of Canada)

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Before we meet the people bringing Canadians together, host Gabrielle Bouchard shares why she started this podcast in the first place.

It starts with a surprising idea from political scientist Robert Putnam. When Italy handed identical powers to twenty very different regions, some thrived and others struggled. The difference wasn't wealth, education, or politics. It was whether people joined things: choirs, hiking clubs, soccer leagues, cooperatives. Putnam called it social capital, and it turns out to be one of the foundations of a strong democracy.

The trouble is that Canadians are joining less than ever. Gabby looks at what that means for our democracy, why it's showing up in our loneliness and happiness rankings, and why this issue is personal for her as a parent working from home in a sprawling suburb.

The good news: people across Canada are finding new ways to bring us together that fit modern life. This season, you'll hear from Anna Jahn, Kattie Laur, Andrea French, Kulvir Gill, Jenny Perez, Nick Clayton, Alex Fiddes, and Matt Pinder about how they made the leap from going it alone to building community, plus a bonus conversation with democracy expert Peter McLeod.

Mentioned in this episode: Making Democracy Work and Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam; the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on loneliness and isolation; the World Happiness Report.

Thank you to Action Canada Fellow Darren Fung from Stinky Rice Studios for the music!

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Everyone Needs More Dancing

Anna Jahn grew up clubbing in 1990s Berlin. Then came university, two kids by 25, and a life in Canada where dance floors started at midnight and didn't feel built for someone like her. She missed it. Not because she's a great dancer (she insists she isn't), but because she missed the feeling of losing herself in music surrounded by friends.

So after one wine-fuelled book club night, she proposed a new kind of gathering: start early, bring two songs that make you dance, and follow one rule. No talking. Just dancing.

That kitchen party became Le Club Pop-Up. It moved to her garage, then to rented venues in Ottawa, and now to regular club nights in Montreal alongside the DJ collective Cocktail Sonore. Today, the crowd ranges from 19 to 75, and Anna's own daughter has worked the door.

Gabby and Anna talk about why clubbing has faded for Millennials and Gen Z, how the pandemic wiped out venues, the difference between the awe of a stadium concert and the connection of a small sweaty room, and why the secret to community building is doing something you genuinely enjoy. Plus: Anna's advice for starting your own dance night, even if all you have is a garage and a playlist.

Thank you to Action Canada Fellow Darren Fung from Stinky Rice Studios for the music!

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It's Hard to Pray on an Empty Stomach

In 2008, Kulvir Gill ran a workshop at a Sikh youth retreat on a simple question: what would it take to bring langar, the community kitchen at the heart of every gurdwara, out into the wider world? When it wrapped up, he thanked everyone and got ready to move on. The room had other plans. They asked when they were actually going to do it. The next week, about 70 people showed up at his house.

That accidental beginning became Seva Food Bank. Kulvir, a strategy professional in the mining sector and recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, tells Gabby how a group of lawyers, engineers, and accountants realized they were out of their depth, stepped back to learn what their community actually needed, and built a food bank rooted in the belief that everyone who walks through the door, whether to get food, give food, or volunteer, is part of the same family.

They talk about faith as a way of thinking beyond yourself, why "selfless service" is often deeply rewarding for the people doing it, how any of us is three hard knocks away from needing help, and the unexpected partnership that turned Seva into a "farm team" for Peel Regional Police. Kulvir also shares what it's like to lead from the back, and his challenge to every listener: skip the mushy middle and find the thing that makes you say hell yes.

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