Organizers moved the event to Canada over fears the American political climate could deter international attendees.
By John Longhurst • August 7, 2026
Read: 3 min
Humanists from around the world will be meeting in Ottawa on Aug. 7 to 9 for the World Humanist Congress.
The congress, which is sponsored by Humanists International, based in Scotland, is being held in Canada for the first time.
Described as the “largest, most vital, and most influential international gathering of the global humanist movement,” it will bring together over 500 people from 41 countries under the theme “Humanism as Resistance.”
Such resistance is needed at a time of “resurgent authoritarianism, escalating religious nationalism, and the aggressive spread of anti-science disinformation,” the organizers have said.
At the congress, participants will hear speakers and panellists discuss their shared humanistic values. These include respect and care for the natural world; the primacy of reason and science; rejection of the supernatural; standing against all forms of racism and prejudice; and promoting human rights for everyone — including the right to freedom of religion and unbelief.
Keynote speakers include A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and secular humanist; Rebecca Goldstein, an American philosopher and public intellectual; and Sarah Wilkins-LaFlamme, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo who researches the decline of organized religion in Canada.
Janalee Morris, executive director of Humanist Canada, says Canada was originally not supposed to host the congress. It was supposed to take place in Washington, D.C.
But after consulting with humanists in the U.S., Humanists International felt uncomfortable holding the event there due to the political climate in that country. On short notice, they asked if Canada would host it.
“They felt it would be difficult for people to come, to get visas,” Morris said in an interview with Canadian Affairs.
“They thought people might choose not to come out of fear of what might happen, of ICE detaining people,” she said, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For Morris, the congress is an opportunity for people to talk about the responsibility of human beings to look after each other and the planet.
“We believe that there is no supernatural being that’s going to come and save us,” said Morris, who was raised Catholic but left that faith over its treatment of women and questions about God.
“We only have ourselves to try to make this world a better place, to try to make our own lives better. When you believe that, I think you automatically assume a responsibility to say, ‘It’s really just up to us.’”
Daniel Dacombe, a secular humanist from Manitoba, agrees.
Dacombe says being a secular humanist means not waiting for a better future to arrive, but doing something about it now.
“There’s a potential out there where we actually do have a bright future for our species,” he said. “But we won’t get there passively.”
Dacombe, who will be attending the congress in August, says he is looking forward to meeting people from other countries who have been building their own humanist communities, especially in places with more restrictive laws around non-belief.
Also attending the congress is Leslie Rosenblood, secular chair of the Centre for Inquiry Canada, a national humanist organization. Rosenblood sees the event as a way to introduce humanism to Canadians at a time when more and more people are leaving organized religion.
“If you care about the people in your community, if you care about the next generation and the generation after that, and if you believe that it is our collective responsibility to make things better for those that will come after us, then you are not alone,” he said.
“There are millions of us in Canada who think that way, and many more around the world. Find us. Talk to us. We welcome you.”
Longhurst, J. (2026, August 7). World Humanist Congress comes to Ottawa — after U.S. plans fall through. Canadian Affairs. https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/08/07/world-humanist-congress-comes-to-ottawa-after-u-s-plans-fall-through/