Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Delivers Empowering Speech to 16,000 Students and Educators at WE Day Ottawa Celebrating the Power Young People have to Change the World

OTTAWA, ON--(Marketwired - November 10, 2015) -

• WE Day streams live today from 9:00 a.m. ET at www.weday.com/watch
  
• Photos available on the WE Day Ottawa Electronic Press Kit by 4:00 p.m. ET
  
• Watch Prime Minister Trudeau's speech live at 1:15 pm. ET on the WE Day Periscope channel https://www.periscope.tv/weday

Today, WE Day welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau as they make their first public address together since the Prime Minister was sworn in last week. Joining world-renowned speakers and award-winning performers, Prime Minister Trudeau will address tens of thousands of young Canadians in celebration of the contributions they have made to their local and global communities.

"The thousands of students here today at WE Day are making our country and our world a better place. I am honoured to return to this stage, and join thousands of others, in a movement that is empowering young people by giving them the tools they need to become engaged, successful citizens," said Prime Minister Trudeau. "From a very young age, my parents taught me about the importance of volunteering. This is a lesson that Sophie and I are passing on to our kids, and that WE Day is sharing with young people across Canada and around the globe. By encouraging our nation's most valuable asset -- our youth -- to be agents of positive change, we are helping them make their voices heard, and become leaders in their communities."

WE Day, a series of global educational events celebrating youth making a difference the world, alongside partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS, will also feature motivational speeches and performances from Ambassador Bruce Heyman and Vicki Heyman, Rick Hansen, Henry Winkler, Lilly Singh, Simple Plan, Kardinal Offishall, Shawn Hook, Spencer West and more. Alongside international activists and WE Day co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, the cast of returning WE Day fan favourites and new faces join 16,000 students and educators from over 500 schools to celebrate the contributions of young people and kick-start another year of change.

WE Day Ottawa celebrates the remarkable stories of people leading change and provides the youth in attendance, and tens of thousands more watching the event streamed live on www.weday.com/watch, inspiration to find their place within the WE Day movement-a movement that celebrates and inspires this generation's shift from me to we. Stories like the journey of Liam, Jan and Quinn of the Brothers Dubé, who in 2007 began playing music when their mother was diagnosed with cancer; performing covers of her favourite songs to lift her spirits. After losing their mother in 2008, the trio chose to carry on her memory by performing and raising funds for cancer research. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the brothers began fundraising and collecting gently used musical instruments for a local Haitian orphanage. Liam, Jan and Quinn are just three of the many young people who will share their story to motivate their WE Day peers.

WE Day Ottawa co-hosts, Liz Trinnear and Maripier Morin, will energize the crowd through a full day of powerful educational speeches, inspirational moments and empowering performances. A few must-see highlights include:

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau address WE Day Ottawa, making their first public speech together since the Prime Minister was sworn in
• Actor, director, producer and author, Henry Winkler, inspires the crowd, encouraging students to believe in themselves and overcome obstacles in their way
• JUNO Award-winning Canadian rock band, Simple Plan, energizes the WE Day Ottawa audience with a performance of their most recent hit "Boom"

"We believe that, if given the right tools, today's youth can conquer anything they put their minds to. Annually, 200,000 students coast to coast and around the world, from over 10,000 schools, earn their tickets to WE Day by creating tangible benefits for their communities," said WE Day co-founder Craig Kielburger. "By bringing together 16,000 young change-makers today, students from across the province of Ontario will know that they're not alone and that collectively, they are making their voices heard."

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the yearlong WE Schools program, which provides hands-on, student-led campaigns designed to enhance a school's existing social initiatives or to spark new ones. WE Schools helps young people turn the day's inspiration into sustained action. By taking action on one local and one global cause, students are equipped with the tools to succeed academically, in the working world and as active citizens.

Taking the philanthropic world by storm, with 14 events across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., WE Day is a global movement of 2.3 million young people. Since 2007, youth involved with WE Day and WE Schools have raised $62 million for more than 2,500 local and global organizations, volunteered 19.9 million hours for local and global causes and collected over 7.6 million pounds of food. WE Day and WE Schools are cause inclusive, empowering young people to find their passion and create the change they want to see in the world.

You can't buy a ticket to WE Day-students from across the country earn their way with the actions they take on one local and one global cause of their choice. WE Day is free of charge to the thousands of students and educators in attendance, thanks to the generous support of partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS.

About WE Day
www.weday.com

About the WE Day Movement

WE Day is the movement of our time-a movement of young people leading local and global change. WE Day celebrates and inspires this generation's shift from me to we-towards acting with intention, leading with compassion and a belief in the power of community. WE Day is one of the world's largest non-profit initiatives on social media, with more than five million followers. This year alone over 200,000 young people will come together in 14 stadium gatherings across Canada, the U.S. and U.K. to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative.

WE Day is connected to a yearlong free educational program, WE Schools, which provides educational resources and campaigns to help young people turn the day's inspiration into sustained action. WE Day and WE Schools are cause inclusive, empowering young people to find their passion and create the change they want to see. Together WE Day and WE Schools are a blueprint for building the next generation of global change-makers. For more information, please visit www.we.org

About RBC
www.rbc.com/freethechildren

About TELUS
www.telus.com