Team Canada has had a busy fall and winter! Between travelling to Germany, Quebec, and Ontario, the team has stayed hard at work, sharpening skills, building friendships, and representing Canada at tournaments across the globe.
Training Camp in Toronto
The season kicked off with our annual training camp in Toronto, where new and returning team members came together for team-building, practice debates, and strategy workshops. The weekend set the tone for a strong and supportive season ahead.
Team USA Spar in Montreal
Over Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, Team Canada hosted Team USA in Montreal for friendly sparring and joint training sessions. The international exchange gave both teams valuable chances to experiment with new strategies and receive feedback from coaches and alumni.
When we weren’t debating, we explored the Old Port with a scavenger hunt, enjoyed dinner at the Burger Bar on Crescent, and shared a Thanksgiving feast (with pumpkin pie for a taste of an American Thanksgiving classic at the request of Team USA coaches Shania Hunt and Chris Vincent). We learned so much from each other and had an unforgettable weekend.
A huge thank-you goes out to the coaches, sponsors, committee members and volunteers who made this event possible!
EurOpens in Stuttgart, Germany
In November, Team Canada travelled to Stuttgart for the 2025 EurOpens and had an incredible showing. Team Canada broke first and went on to win both the Gold and Silver Finals!
We’re thrilled to share that ten of the Top 20 speakers were from Team Canada, with Zac Weinberg finishing as Top Speaker. In the Gold Final, Team Canada “Connor McDavid” defeated USA Red, and in the Silver Final, Team Canada “Summer McIntosh” bested Team Bezigrad.
Thank you to DSG and the EurOpens OrgComm for hosting such a fantastic tournament, and congratulations to all competitors on a brilliant weekend of debate!
Team Canada Debate’s Online Fundraising Tournament
We wrapped up 2024 with our annual online fundraising tournament, bringing together debaters worldwide for a weekend of spirited rounds and community support. The team raised $8,500 in total, an incredible achievement! Team England took home first place.
A huge thank-you goes out to our volunteer judges and international adjudicators, as well as coaches Brent Schmidt and Arsalan Ghaemi for making the event possible.
Announcing the 2025 Five
After much deliberation and consultation between the coaching team and selection committee, we’re proud to announce the 2025-26 Team Canada 5 who will represent Canada in Kenya at the World Schools Debating Championships:
The 5 (alphabetically):
- Hannah Li
- Jade Wang
- Sophie Li
- Terrence Zhu
- Zac Weinberg
Alternates (alphabetically):
- Afrukhta Siddique
- Conan Li
- Eric Wang
- Grace Liu
- Hannah Liu
- Keerti Joshi
- Michael Peng
Congratulations to the entire development team for an excellent first half of the year!
Western WSDC Results
Team Canada kicked off the new year with strong results at Western WSDC. Canada Red, represented by our five WSDC debaters, won the tournament unanimously for the third consecutive year, with Hannah Li named Top Speaker of the Final.
Canada White broke second overall and advanced to semifinals, where they faced Canada Red in a close, high-quality round. Among the standout performances:
- Zac Weinberg – Top Speaker
- Hannah Liu – Third Speaker
- Sophie Li – Fifth Speaker
- Terrence Zhu – Eighth Speaker
- Eric Wang – Ninth Speaker
We’re so proud of every member for their hard work. With Harvard WSDC coming up next, Team Canada is ready to carry this momentum into the spring season!
Team Canada Debate 
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