Inside the Circle

  • Our organization is made up of dozens of active citizens, joining together to learn about and improve democracy in Canada.

    Launched in 2023 following a three-year study of the challenges facing liberal democracies, the Circle was created as a vehicle for mutual learning. We approach this as citizens, implementing what we learn as members of civil society.

  • The Circle is governed by a Council of citizens from diverse backgrounds who bring a variety of perspectives to our work. These include:

OUR ORIGINS

In 2021, the Canadian International Council (CIC) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Canada launched an ambitious study of the challenges that inclusive, liberal democracies face in an era of rising authoritarianism.

The study operated under the name Renewing Our Democratic Alliance, or RODA, with a major focus on mutual learning between Germany and Canada.

As we delved deeper into the roots of inclusive democracy in Canada, we sought to incorporate lessons from the deepest traditions in this land, from the governance practices of First Nations, Inuit and Métis nations.

The culmination of the RODA project the creation of a new, permanent organization to facilitate mutual learning between liberal, inclusive democracies.  The Circle for Democratic Solidarity was created in June 2023.

From left to right: Dr. Craig Damian Smith, Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar, Convenor Ben Rowswell, Chargée d'Affaires Mme Isabelle Poupart, Ambassador (ret.) Jeremy Kinsman at a CIC and KAS conference on refugee resettlement at the Canadian Embassy to Germany in September 2022