Why We Are Here
We believe organizations make better decisions when new ideas enter the room, delivered by speakers who understand the audience, align to objectives, and turn insight into action. When we assessed the speaker market, we identified a gap experienced by Canadian event planners: limited access to diverse, practical expertise, inconsistent standards, and a process that often prioritized visibility over outcomes. Discovery was inefficient, speaker alignment was inconsistent, and execution carried unnecessary risk. Speakers Bureau of Canada was built to address these challenges through a Canadian-focused roster, disciplined standards, and an operating model designed to ensure alignment, reduce complexity, and deliver consistent, high-quality results.
What We Do
The Speakers Bureau of Canada operates as a national intermediary between organizations and professional speakers, supporting conferences, leadership programs, and strategic corporate events across Canada. We help teams identify the right speaker for the moment—and then ensure the engagement is structured, protected, and delivered to standard.
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No Extra Fees
Speakers available at the same fee with no additional costs
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Centralized Planning
Streamlined for event planning and execution
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Speaker Matching
Targeted research and sourcing aligned to your objectives
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Speaker Qualification
Rigorous vetting for credibility, quality, relevance, and delivery
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Canadians Speakers
Speakers who understand the challenges, solutions and context across Canadian organizations and audiences
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Global Sourcing
International speaker networks, direct contact with agents and quick responses
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Fee Alignment
Clear speaker fees aligned to scope, format, and engagement requirements
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Decision Support
Services aligned to internal processes, timelines, and approvals
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Expert Logistics
Detailed coordination with trust for preparation and execution
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Clear Contract Terms
Agreements consistent to industry frameworks with flexibility
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Payment Management
Coordinated with accuracy, transparency, and control
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Quality & Consistency
Industry aligned agreements with flexibility
"The Speakers Bureau of Canada consistently deliver exceptional value and insight, enhancing our events with their speakers and services."— Canada Post
Where the Work Lives
We operate where outcomes matter, timelines are compressed, and delivery must hold across sectors and event formats in Canada. We work within the realities event teams face: fixed budgets, high-visibility stakeholders, and no margin for operational error. We expand access to speakers, reduce complexity for clients, and centralize research, recommendations, and booking execution through a standardized, reliable process. Acting as an extension of event teams, we manage speaker research, shortlisting, fit and fee alignment, agreements, and coordination across scheduling, logistics, and payments, so organizers can focus on the program and its outcomes.
Who We Serve
We serve both sides of the engagement. Event and meeting planners that need a speaker experience that is aligned and execution-ready, and professional speakers who want structured representation that protects credibility and supports long-term positioning. In doing so, we reduce friction, streamline the process, protect quality, and strengthen learning outcomes, so engagements hold up under real event conditions.
For Organizations
We support corporate, government, association, non-profit, and community teams that need a speaker who can align quickly, deliver credibly, and strengthen the event's purpose, without adding administrative burden.
Keynote speakers (hybrid, virtual, in-person) for events with complex stakeholder needs
Motivational speakers for AGMs, conferences, summits, leadership programs, and strategic meetings
Professional speakers and experts for talent, culture, and transformation initiatives
Relationship-led guidance and a standardized process from selection through delivery
Speaker sourcing and contracting, including the ability to engage speakers from other agencies and manage their contracts on behalf of clients.
For Professional Speakers
We support speakers who want structured representation, consistent standards, and engagements that protect and strengthen their credibility and long-term positioning by building relationships and advancing their careers.
Personalized, structured and expert representation to increase positioning, access and standards for bookings
Career-aligned opportunities, extending relationships and credibility beyond transactional bookings
Consistent standards for contracts, logistics, travel arrangements and timely payment
Expert guidance on fees, terms, profile positioning, trending topics and industry best practices
Access to high-impact events not always reachable if not represented by the bureau. Ongoing advancement, marketing and direct bookings
What We Protect
When a speaker engagement goes wrong, the cost is rarely just financial; it’s reputational, operational, and cultural. Our rigorous standards exist to protect the outcomes and relationships that organizations and speakers rely on. Through our process, we proactively safeguard every critical aspect of your engagement from inquiry to booking, including meticulous vetting, transparent communication, and robust contract management, ensuring all parties are aligned and risks are mitigated effectively.
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Speaker Integrity
Fit, expectations, and professionalism maintained across every engagement
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Speaker Research
Defined research process that delivers measurable, comparable speaker options
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Speaker Qualifying
Speaker recommendations aligned to objectives, audience fit, and delivery standards
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Centralized Services
Single point of contact for organizers to streamline research, coordination, alignment and execution
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Forward Progress
Controlled communications to streamline decisions and next steps
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Confidential Sourcing
Discreet sourcing that protects organizational intent and process
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Decision Confidence
Clarity and structure that support confident internal decision-making
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Reliability
Defined timelines, confirmations, and readiness checks at every stage
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Content Clarity
Clear expectations on content, objectives, and audience outcomes
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Confidentiality
Protection of event, decisions, and stakeholders at all times
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Contract Clarity
Clear terms covering all parties aligned to industry standard
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Event Outcomes
Delivery aligned to objectives that reinforces stakeholder trust and confidence
Our Measurable Impact
The Speakers Bureau of Canada delivers impact as a national platform through which ideas, expertise, and lived experience are introduced, scaled, and sustained across organizations and communities. Our role is to expand reach, maintain engagement standards, and ensure consistent delivery of speaker engagements that influence individuals, organizations, and society. We measure our success through the strength of our relationships, the performance of our speakers, and the number of Canadians reached through each engagement.
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National Reach
Events across all industries & sectors for corporate, government, association, nonprofit, community events
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Short Notice Bookings
Rapid response, systems improvement and execution for compressed timelines
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Reliability at Scale
Timelines, confirmations, and readiness consistently met with quality of service and delivery maintained
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Repeat Engagements
Long-term relationships demonstrated through repeat bookings
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Speaker Alignment
98% success rate of matching Speakers to audience, goals, and delivery expectations
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Virtual Delivery
At the forefront of virtual and hybrid event delivery and standards
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Consistent Delivery
Proven execution across in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats
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Standard Process
Proven systems for speaker matching, bookings, performance, and profile assets
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Roster Expansion
Continuous growth aligned to market demand and emerging topics
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Exclusive Speakers
Dedicated representation that advances speaker quality, access and careers
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Speaker Quality
Defined standards that elevate consistency, professionalism, and delivery
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Roster Culture
Expanded access to diverse, credible, and emerging voices committed to our values and culture
The Future of Events in Canada
The pace of change has outgrown how most organizations plan and execute events. Technology, distributed work, and shifting societal dynamics are redefining how teams operate and align. Events are no longer standalone experiences. They are operational infrastructure—used to transfer knowledge, build capability, and create alignment at speed. The next era will not reward scale. It will reward execution: the right message, the right speaker, the right format, delivered to the right audience at the right time. Success is measured by what changes after the event.
What is Changing in the Events Industry
Technology is compressing timelines while raising expectations: technology is reshaping roles, hybrid work is reshaping attendance, and event outcomes are being measured less by applause and more by what changes after delivery.
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AI and robotics compress reskilling cycles, shifting jobs across various sectors
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Leadership, change, and performance move from “soft skills” to automations
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Inflation pushes speaker costs up while organizations face fixed or reduced event budgets
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Virtual events become standard for some organizations and audience types
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Speaker supply expands faster than qualification; visibility and fees diverge from expertise
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Audience engagement declines, forcing speakers to adapt to shorter presentations
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Organizations include production at scale for virtual and hybrid events to increase engagement
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Speaker interaction with audience, memorability and impact results become measurable to investment
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Generic keynotes lose ground to relevance, specificity, and role-based value tied to real work
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Event tech expanding formats with new event technology rising and increasing disruption
What We Are Building to Adapt
If events are becoming operational infrastructure, the system behind them must reduce noise, protect fit, and make delivery repeatable across formats and timelines. We are building a bureau model designed for speed under pressure, without trading away standards.
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Decision support that compresses shortlisting without sacrificing alignment
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Qualification standards that separate expertise from profile, fee, and visibility
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Audience inputs that translate context into customization and learning outcomes
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Speaker, organizer workflows that increase alignment from selection through prep
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Performance signals and topic demand tracking that sharpen recommendations over time
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Delivery standards for interactive engagement for keynote, virtual, and hybrid presentations
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Stakeholder and industry partner resources to increase access to experts for speakers and organizations
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Post-event reinforcement tools and options that extend learning into action
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Industry partners for new technology for virtual and hybrid event production, delivery and technology integrations
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Systems and tools that create value return to engage attendees before and after the engagement
Our Story
The Speakers Bureau of Canada is a family-run business built for execution under the pressures of real conditions – real events, real constraints, and ongoing timelines that are required to be a success. Long before we launched nationally, we built our foundation producing speaker-led events across Western Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, contributing to more than ninety million dollars raised for non profit organizations and establishing early standards for speaker qualification, fee discipline, and audience impact.
When we became a national agency in 2016, the industry started breaking in unpredictable ways: disruption accelerated, formats multiplied, and expectations shifted from “a great keynote” to audience experience and measurable outcomes. The pandemic made cancellations, reschedules, and virtual delivery operational realities. Social movements shifted most in demand topics. At the same time, the market got louder, discovery became harder, standards drifted, fees rose, and technology reshaped how teams work and how events create value. Navigating this complex landscape required constant adaptation and strategic evolution.
We sustained growth by tightening the system: reducing risk, building repeatable workflows, investing in internal training, and operating with standards designed for relevance, professionalism, and delivery that holds up under pressure. We are not built for perfect conditions. We are built for disruption, so we can protect standards, adapt quickly, and keep delivery intact. Through our approach, organizations move faster, reduce risk, stay current with evolving trends, and execute with confidence. We are proud to have grown with organizations and organizations to have grown with us.
1980s–1990s
Produced speaker-led events across Western Canada, contributed to $90M+ raised for non-profits, and established early standards for speaker qualification and audience impact
1999
Founded as the Speakers Bureau of Alberta through a network of Alberta-based organizations
2000–2010
Expanded recurring bookings across Alberta and strengthened speaker relationships, execution standards, and long-term client trust
2014
Entered business continuity period; Gordon assumed operational responsibilities while completing sociology studies and stabilized delivery
2014–2016
Conducted industry research, identified gaps in existing speaker representation models, and designed a national operating model
2016
Launched as the Speakers Bureau of Canada and transitioned to a national roster and operating framework
2019–2022
Built workflows for virtual and hybrid engagements at scale and sustained delivery through widespread disruption
2022
Joined the International Association of Speaker Bureaus, a boutique association of the world’s top speaker bureaus
2022
New website launch with refined roster and defined brand direction
2023
Restructured operations and scaled systems to support national discovery and service delivery
2024
Expanded and hired a national team to increase operational consistency across contracting, scheduling, and logistics
2025 to Today
Operates as a national intermediary with standardized workflows and repeatable delivery across all formats, with 20,000+ engagements overseen
Our Founders
The Speakers Bureau of Canada is led by Roger Breault and Gordon Breault, a father-and-son team built on decades of hands-on event production, speaker representation, and operational execution. Their leadership combines continuity and adaptation: experience earned in live environments, and a disciplined approach to standards that has scaled the bureau into a national operating model that shifts and adapts with the markets. Roger and Gordon have overseen more than 20,000 speaking engagements across Canada and now lead a national team who are event industry experts.
Meet Our Founders
Gordon Breault
CEO & Co-Founder
Gordon assumed operational leadership during a business continuity period in 2014, while completing studies in sociology, stabilizing delivery, strengthening internal operations, and helping rebuild the bureau’s model and roster for the realities Canadian organizations face. He then led the shift from a regional bureau to a national agency in 2016, overseeing national operations, roster strategy, systems, and long-term growth—while adapting workflows and delivery standards for engagements at scale and building a team to support the growth.
History & Accomplishments
- Assumed operational leadership during a business continuity period
- Led the transition from a regional agency to a national bureau
- Built and led website, brand, marketing, and reputation initiatives
- Scaled standards across in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats
- Oversees national operations, speaker relationships
- Leads scaling systems, service improvement and innovation
- Drives long-term growth, continuity, and impact delivery
Roger Breault, MCS
Director & Co-Founder
Roger founded the organization in 1999 as the Speakers Bureau of Alberta, building it through long-term relationships with speakers and event planners and a practical understanding of what actually works on stage. Before the bureau, he produced speaker-led events across Western Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, contributing to more than ninety million dollars raised for non profit organizations, an era that shaped the bureau’s early focus on speaker qualification, fee discipline, and audience impact.
History & Accomplishments
- Founded the Speakers Bureau of Alberta (1999)
- Was a speaker on fundraising and non profit structures
- Raised over ninety million dollars raised through non profit events
- Produced large-scale events across Western Canada
- Established standards on preparation, relevance & audience impact
- Built long-term relationships with speakers and organizations
- Consults Gordon and team, manages speaker hiring and roster
Together, Roger and Gordon have overseen more than 20,000 speaking engagements across Canada, building a national team specializing in the events industry and establishing standards that protect delivery, outcomes, and long-term relationships.