Inside Toronto Life’s Most Influential party with Olivia Chow, Sarah Nurse, Jagmeet Singh and more

On Wednesday, November 13, Toronto Life hosted its annual celebration of the city’s most influential people, hosted by Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville Hotel. Players from the Toronto Sceptres—including our December-issue cover stars Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner and Blayre Turnbull—celebrated the occasion with Mayor Olivia Chow, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and other change-makers in politics, tech, media, sports, culture and real estate.

The night began with a cocktail hour, sponsored by ROOM, at Virtu Café, celebrating the 26 ambitious up-and-comers who were chosen for this year’s Rising Stars list. Next, Reetu Gupta, the ambassadress of the Gupta Group, introduced an intimate fireside chat between Toronto Life editor-in-chief Malcolm Johnston and Nurse, Spooner and Turnbull, the PWHL players who snagged the No. 1 spot for blazing a trail for women in professional sports.

Then the party moved upstairs to Día Restaurant and Lounge for the main event, which was sponsored by Fitzrovia. Guests enjoyed refreshments from World Class Canada, Don Julio Tequila, Seedlip, Molson Canadian and Pelee Island Winery. After speeches from Gupta, Johnston and Toronto Life publisher Jason Maghanoy, there was a performance by singer and choreographer Omega Mighty, one of this year’s Rising Stars. It included a guest appearance by her sister Haviah Mighty, a rapper who was also chosen for the list. Finally, DJ Jonathan Daniels kept the crowd grooving until the end of the night.

Here’s a closer look at how the evening unfolded.