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True Patriot Love Scotiabank Expedition: Best of Canada Series 2017

 

Coast to coast to coast, our team explored our great nation for Canada 150.

 

In honour of Canada 150, True Patriot Love chose to celebrate the varied landscape of our great nation by exploring three remote locations. The True Patriot Love Scotiabank Expedition: Best of Canada series challenged ill and injured soldiers and Canadian business leaders by taking on some of the most unique adventures from coast to coast to coast. Participants white-water rafted in Central BC, canoed in the Northwest Territories and kayaked the shores of Newfoundland, with each expedition providing its own set of challenges.

  • Headed East
  • Headed West
  • Headed North

The Cabot Expedition: JUNE 9-17

 

In 1497, European explorer John Cabot sailed across the Atlantic on the ship Matthew and laid claim to land in Eastern Canada. In 2017, True Patriot Love expeditioners became explorers in their own right, exploring the coast of Newfoundland on an intensive sea kayak adventure. Participants crossed the open waters of the Bay of Exploits until they reach the incredible Fogo Island, where they celebrated the completion of the journey with an east coast boil-up and community tour.

Meet The Participants Read Their Blog Posts

The Mackenzie Expedition: JULY 9–23

 

 

Sir Alexander Mackenzie was the first person to cross North America in 1793. He completed his journey 10 years before Lewis and Clarke with the help of voyageurs and First Nations guides. Expedition participants recreated the final leg of his monumental journey, hiking over the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, white-water rafting down the Bella Coola River and then paddling ocean canoes to reach his historic inscription: “First crossing of North America by land, July 22, 1793.” To celebrate the completion of this journey, expedition participants enjoyed a traditional feast in the First Nations community of Bella Coola.

Meet the Participants Read Their Blog Posts

The Douglas Expedition: JULY 29–AUGUST 12

 

In the early 1900’s, Canadian explorer George Douglas devoted his life to discovering remote areas of the great Canadian Northwest by canoe. In 2017, True Patriot Love took on this same land on a challenging white-water canoe expedition through the wilderness. This iconic river trip started on the Keele River in the foothills of the Mackenzie Mountains and culminated with a community feast in the historic First Nations community of Tulita.

Meet the Participants Read Their Blog Posts
Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support of these expeditions!

Presenting Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor of the Mackenzie Expedition

Health and Wellness Sponsor

Airline Partners

Special Thanks: MEC
True Patriot Love Foundation
150 York Street, Suite 1700
Toronto, ON M5H 3S5

416.628.1432
info@truepatriotlove.com
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SERVICES & RESOURCES

 

  • If you are a Veteran/military member and are in distress, call the Member Assistance Program at 1-800-268-7708
  • If you are worried about your family member, call the Family Information Line at 1-800-866-4546
  • Other resources: Family Force, Operational Stress Injury Support Services (OSSIS) or CAF's Mental Health Resources

Katrina Bolak

Katrina Bolak is an award-winning marketer and seasoned communications professional. She has a passion for podcasting that led her to executive produce two podcasts for The Globe and Mail and launch The Globe’s podcasting efforts. She holds an HBAA in Media Studies from the University of Guelph, a Diploma in PR from Humber College and an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University. Katrina lives in Toronto with her husband Dan, their rescue pup Parker and two cats Duncan and Vivica.

 

Shannon Busta

Shannon Busta is an award-winning digital journalist based in Toronto. Prior to joining The New York Times she worked at The Globe and Mail as a video producer and audience strategist. She holds an Executive MBA from Western University’s Ivey School of Business and a Master of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves running, cycling and spending time outdoors with her partner Sam Riches.

 

Philip Grosch

Philip served as a board member for the True Patriot Love Foundation from 2018 to 2025, and was the sponsor behind the Captain Nichola Goddard Fund podcast “For Her Country."

Philip is a passionate supporter of veterans with a focus on supporting their transition and success in post-military careers. In addition to his role on the True Patriot Love Foundation board, he is the President of Treble Victor Group (3V is a Veterans organization focused on supporting members in their post military careers www.treblevictor.org) . He has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition for his support of veterans.

In his professional career, Philip is a Consulting Partner at PwC, based in Toronto. Currently he is the executive responsible for the firm's global sales transformation program.

Philip has become a somewhat unexpected sponsor and joint-architect of PwC’s innovative and award winning leadership program targeted at top talent, mid-career women. The program started in 2013, when it became clear that although our entry level hiring was equal, we were losing top talent mid career women at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts. In 2017, the program was expanded to include participants from other organizations. Today more than 400 talented women have graduated from the program. Our retention of talent is now close to 90%, and 21% of the PwC alumni have joined the executive (partner) ranks.

Philip is a 2016 Catalyst Canada Honours Champion in the Business Leader category, recognized for his exceptional corporate leadership and transformational contributions to advancing women and inclusion in the workplace. He is an Advisory Board Member for WNORTH and past advisory board member for WXN Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Captain (Ret’d) Theresa Sapara, CD, MBA

 

Theresa joined the military as a private soldier before being selected for officer and university training, after which she worked for combat, special forces and combat-support units as a logistic officer, in Canada and in Haiti. True to her competitive and driven nature, she also qualified as a military parachutist and competed in the military Ironman competition.

 

Seeking further opportunities to develop and broaden the application of the leadership skills learned as a soldier, she left the Army and has quickly established herself as a mid-ranking commercial leader with a track record of changing business focus and processes to better exploit new strategic environments. This included working within the retail, mining and professional services industries before being appointed as a manager for Amazon Web Services based in Toronto.

 

Theresa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business. In addition to spending time with her family, she volunteers as a Board Member for the Treble Victor Group (a Veterans organization) and UForChange (a youth arts program).