Speaker Series Media Coverage

Steve Paikin Opens up at Algonquin College Speaker Series

Steve Paikin is used to asking questions. The veteran interviewer and journalist has been at the anchor desk of TVO’s public affairs programming for more than 30 years, but for one night, Paikin was answering questions. In a virtual speaker series event, Paikin responded to questions from the audience on everything from his most interesting interview to the stories that he has covered throughout his awarding winning career.

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100 years after Pembroke’s Great Fire

It was 100 years ago that much of Pembroke’s downtown was destroyed by a raging fire.

On June 18, 1918, a fire broke out at the Laundriault’s Livery Barns that was located on Prince Street in downtown Pembroke. After receiving an emergency call at 6:30 p.m., Pembroke’s Fire Brigade arrived downtown within minutes where they witnessed the sight of the fire quickly tearing through buildings and spreading across town as residents began fleeing in a hysterical state.

Algonquin Speaker Series: The Flying Bandit

It was around 30 years ago that Canada’s most daring armed robber was captured and sentenced right here in Pembroke, Ontario.

Gilbert Galvan, infamously known as the Flying Bandit, lived in Pembroke while going on his record-setting cross-country robbery spree through the 1980s.

Remembering a disaster

It was considered among the worst train disasters for its time in Canada, and it happened in the Ottawa Valley.

On the evening of Dec. 27, 1942, a tightly packed passenger train, known as the Pembroke Local, was ready to leave the Almonte train station when it was overtaken and rammed by a troop train carrying soldiers bound for Europe.

Charlotte Gray concludes Algonquin Speaker Series with The Promise of Canada

Algonquin College’s 2017 Speaker Series fittingly concluded with renowned Canadian historian Charlotte Gray and her noteworthy homage to Canada, in honour of the country’s 150th anniversary.

Ever since the Speaker Series kicked off in January 2017, Algonquin College has welcomed more than a dozen illustrious speakers to deliver compelling presentations about key moments from Canada’s 150 years since Confederation.

Halifax Explosion Remembered

One hundred years ago, Canada went through one of its worst disasters in modern history.

On Dec, 6, 1917, Halifax was devastated by a massive explosion, the largest man-made blast in recorded history until the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Some 2,000 men, women and children were killed, 9,000 injured and left the north end of the city a pile of rubble.

Revisiting the 1972 Summit Series

In the fall of 1972, the Soviet Union and Canada faced off in a series of eight games ostensibly to thaw the Cold War.

It did the opposite heating up tensions between the two hockey superpowers to a point that had never been seen before or since. In the end, all most Canadians today remember today is Paul Henderson’s immortal goal in the dying minutes of game eight to win the series for our nation, however, there is more to the story.

Ottawa Valley a unique place for politics

The Ottawa Valley is a unique place and has been since the beginning of recorded history.
This continues to be well reflected in the character of its people, its culture, and its politics, according to former MPP Sean Conway, the latest guest lecturer to take part in Algonquin College’s ongoing speaker series.

TVO host talks about Bill Davis

Sometimes, bland works. Bill Davis, who for 14 years ran Ontario as premier from 1971 to 1984, and was education minister before that, was more of a compromiser and consensus builder, and not a fiery sort.

Anchors of Confederation: How the CPR and Joey Smallwood Stitched Canada Together

The College kicked off its 2016 fall/winter Speaker Series with Ray Argyle, author of Joey Smallwood: Schemer and Dreamer, and The Boy in the Picture and The Driving of the Last Spike. The extraordinary lives of Joey Smallwood and Edward Mallandaine, Pembroke Observer article >>

Gwynne Dyer: Don’t Panic – Assessing the Risk of Global Terrorism

Dyer, who has been a frequent participant in the college’s speaker series always draws a large crowd and is well-respected as a journalist and public speaker. His lecture challenges the thoughts of many about the real risk of terrorism. In Dyer’s words, “It’s not really as high as it seems.”

Rex Murphy’s Cross Country Checkup, live @ Waterfront Campus

CBC radio personality and broadcaster Rex Murphy, host of the open-line radio program Cross Country Checkup, was live and on location at Algonquin College’s waterfront campus Sunday afternoon to talk youth unemployment, college, university, the skills mismatch for employers, labour market shortages and the like.

William Winram’s Wild about Sharks

For many years, William Winram was at the top of the sport of free diving, winning several medals at world championships. The Canadian turned his love of diving and his interest in marine animals into a career as a shark researcher and public advocate for ocean conservation.

Ed Lawrence’s Spring is Just Around the Corner

Popular gardening expert and CBC personality Ed Lawrence spoke to the spring planting season with lots of anecdotes and gardening tips. Lawrence was the chief gardener for several Canadian Prime Minister and Governor General residences and his weekly radio program on CBC still draws a large audience of Ontarians interested in gardening.

Jeff Hunt’s Ottawa CFL Revival

The revival of the Canadian Football League in the nation’s capital this season and the birth of the Ottawa RedBlacks franchise is the brainchild of Jeff Hunt. Hunt and a group of Ottawa investors have rebuilt Lansdowne Park, turning it into a multi-purpose entertainment centre that will be home to the football team, a professional soccer franchise, and the Ottawa 67s junior hockey team. His presentation on March 18th will address the return of football to Ottawa and why this time it will work.

Bob McDonald’s Quirks & Quarks

Over 500 people gathered at Festival Hall to hear Bob McDonald speak about everything under the sun…and the moon too. The long-time CBC Radio host of Quirks & Quarks, was the guest speaker at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley’s annual lecture series. McDonald’s illustrated presentation was entitled: “Everything You Know about Science is Wrong–Great Leaps in Scientific Thought.”

McDonald has won several awards in science journalism for making complex science concepts accessible and understandable to ordinary Canadians through story telling, books, television shows and his weekly radio show. His presentation was a resounding success with the audience, who ranged from elementary students to scientists, and at the same time, helped the College with its new campus fundraising efforts.