4th Canadian National Fatherhood Conference

Side by Side: Celebrating the Diversity of Fatherhood

May 12-13 2021

Learn Best Practices

Engage More Dads

Create Connections

The Canadian National Fatherhood Conference brings caring professionals together with researchers, leaders and practitioners across Canada. Hear keynote speakers, attend workshops and build new skills while connecting with colleagues.

are you experiencing the following?

  • COVID has limited your effectiveness
  • You need more dad-specific resources
  • You feel disconnected from other professionals

Then you need to attend! As a caring professional your work matters now more than ever.

Join us May 12 and 13, 2021 to CONNECT, MOBILIZE and UNIFY your efforts to serve fathers and families. We know you’ll leave energized and equipped.

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Connect

Meet and learn from other professionals. Share stories. Ask questions. Solve problems.

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Mobilize

Get best practices to help you take action. Improve your knowledge or programs.

Unify

Build relationships and a shared purpose for fathers and families. Increase your impact. Change lives.

Experience A Customized Virtual Event Platform

Because your learning experience is our top priority, we’ve partnered with the leaders in event management to create a customized, 100% virtual conference platform that allows you to:

  • Attend from the comfort of your home or office
  • Engage all in one platform with no extra links or logins
  • Chat live with attendees and presenters
  • See, access and download resources immediately
  • Meet and network with colleagues from across the country, plus more…

As an added bonus, every registrant will get on-demand access to keynotes and workshop recordings for 30 days, regardless if you attended live.

Here is what past National Fatherhood Conference attendees say:

“This was one of the best conferences I have ever attended!”

“It was a great conference, very well organized and very educational... Great Job!”

“Fantastic job putting this all together!”

“Well worth my time. I have met with my team to see what else we can implement for fathers. Tons of great information and new ideas. Loved it!!”

“Thank you for a great conference! I was able to make connections and learn from others.”

“Loved it! Will attend again.”

Your virtual conference also includes:

  • 20+ Educational Workshops, including special resources like the new “Family Man” digital product from Movember
  • Virtual networking session
  • Virtual Dads Panel – hear directly from dads about their experiences and needs
  • On-demand access to all keynote and workshop recordings

The National Fatherhood Conference will be the largest and most exciting learning and development opportunity for family service organizations this year

Keynote Speakers

Opening Keynote Speaker

Carey Casey – Founder & CEO of Championship Fathering

Carey Casey is best known as a compassionate ambassador and speaker, particularly within the American sports community. As the former CEO of the National Center for Fathering (NCF), Carey Casey has earned a reputation as a dynamic communicator, especially on the topic of men being good fathers. 

He is the author of the book: Championship Fathering: How to Win at Being a Dad. His most recent book is Championship Grandfathering: How to Build a Winning Legacy. From 2009 – 2016, Carey served on the White House Task Force for Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage. His career has also included serving as chaplain at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Landry, and chaplain for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Father Involvement Keynote

Dr. Jessica Ball  – Professor, School of Child and Youth, University of Victoria

Jessica Ball is a professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, Canada. Jessica is the principal investigator of an interdisciplinary program of research on the cultural and contextualized nature of human experience (www.ecdip.org), focusing on Indigenous children and families in Canada and around the world. Working in collaboration with First Nations communities and organizations, she led the first studies in Canada of First Nations and Metis fathers.

She was a co-principal investigator in the first national study of fatherhood. She is the author of many articles, chapters, practitioner guidebooks, and family friendly resources on Indigenous fathers, Indigenous language revitalization, early childhood development, couples’ transitions to parenthood, gender equality in close relationships and migration. She is a cis-gendered, third generation Irish-English Canadian. She spent a quarter of her life studying and working in the United States and Southeast Asia. She has had the privilege of growing up and raising her family on the traditional territory of the Coast and Straits Salish Peoples on the west coast of Canada. 

Thursday Opening Keynote

Dr. Niigaan Sinclair – Professor in Native Studies at the University of Manitoba

Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is a regular commentator on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC, and APTN, and his written work can be found in the pages of The Exile Edition of Native Canadian Fiction and Drama, newspapers like The Guardian, and online with CBC Books: Canada Writes

Niigaan is the co-editor of the award-winning Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories, and is the Editorial Director of The Debwe Series with Portage and Main Press.

Closing Keynote

Tessa Lloyd – Counsellor, Photographer and Author of the book Forty Fathers

Tessa Lloyd is a counsellor, writer and photographer living in Victoria, BC. She has a BA in child and youth care and a masters degree in counselling psychology. Tessa is a school counsellor who has worked in schools for over thirty years. She’s also a Registered Clinical Counsellor working in private practice. Tessa wrote the book Forty Fathers: Men Talk about Parenting.

Forty Fathers collects the deeply personal narratives from an eclectic mix of Canadian men who open up about both their own fathers and their deeply personal parenting experiences. The stories are a testament to the huge significance of the bond between fathers and their children, and the many forces – both overt and covert – that can cause it grave damage. Ultimately, the stories are life-affirming and uplifting, and provide confirmation that fathers deserve as much encouragement, attention and validation as mothers.

How much does the conference cost?

Rate (registration ends May 11th at 11:59 p.m. EDT) = $459 CAD

Group discount for 5 or more: $359 CAD / participant

Student discount:

Rate (register by May 10th at 12:00 p.m. EDT) = $100 CAD 

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