History

The WikiConference North America, co-organized by Wikimedia Canada, took place from November 9 to 12 in Toronto, ON. For four days, over 250 participants gathered at the Toronto Reference Library.

During the conference, over 70 sessions were organized, covering a wide range of topics such as Wikimedia governance, GLAM, community news and education issues. Sunday’s plenary session was led by Ha-Loan Phan ( Chair of Wikimedia Canada) and Pierre Choffet (consultant for Wikimedia Canada). Many of the presentations were in the form of lectures, but some people also organized editing marathons and workshops.

Since the conference was taking place in Canada, Wikimedia Canada organized a Canadian user breakfast on Sunday. This was an excellent opportunity for users and Wikimedia Canada staff to meet and exchange ideas about the Wikimedia movement in the country.

Wikimedia Canada welcomes Louis Germain as Executive Director. The hiring of Louis, Wikimedia Canada’s first employee, meets a strategic objective set out in the transformation plan, which aims to adapt Wikimedia Canada’s governance, operational structure and finances to the association’s growth.

In June 2020, Wikimedia Canada was officially recognized as a charity by the Government of Canada.

In 2017, Wikimedia Canada hosted Wikimania in Montreal, the largest annual international conference of the Wikimedia Movement.

The Wikipetcia Atikamekw Nehiromowin is also launched in June 2017.