The eighth episode of Porte Parole’s acclaimed Assembly series tackles polarization around Canada’s energy transition. In 2023, four people with starkly opposing views — a Calgary oil and gas entrepreneur, anIndigenous engineer working at a pipelinecompany, a Toronto environmentalist lobbying for divestment from fossil fuel production, and a BC climate activist canvassing in rural areas — sat down for an unscripted dinner conversation. Their raw exchange became the foundation for The Assembly – Energy in Canada, a play crafted entirely from their words, capturing the conflict and humanity at the heart of the energy debate.
About The Assembly
Over the past 25 years, Porte Parole Productions has developed a practice of verbatim theatre performance that seeks to address toxic polarisation. Its acclaimed series The Assembly has tackled some of the thorniest issues around the world since 2018 – nationalism, gender politics, right and left-wing extremism, climate change, and racism.
In a live setting with balanced representation of individuals from different political, socioeconomic, cultural and professional backgrounds, The Assembly creates a space where people leave their physical and ideological silos to participate in a rare plural agora.
In this space, curated by theatre artists, audiences are able to put some necessary distance between themselves and a conflict that triggers deep emotion. At a time of decreasing social trust, The Assembly invites us to take a chance and choose difficult contact over safe isolation.
The characters
Bruce Dinsmore as Michael
GLOBExCHANGE conference, February 12 2025
© Photo by William Suarez
Michael
Oil and gas CEO
An eighth-generation Albertan who chairs one of Canada’s most influential conservative networks, yet admits that years of dialogue with environmentalists have changed him more than he’s changed them. He speaks the language of zero-emission industrial parks and scope-three solutions. But when pressed, where does he truly stand on the crisis itself?
Julie Lumsden as Kaella-Marie
GLOBExCHANGE conference, February 12 2025
© Photo by William Suarez
Kaella-Marie
Pipeline Engineer, Anishinaabe
Once an anti-pipeline activist, she is now a pipeline engineer trying to inject Indigenous values into an industry built without them. Living between two worlds, she insists no single actor could capture her contradictions. Can you change a system by joining it, or does it change you?
Gord Rand as Adam
GLOBExCHANGE conference, February 12 2025
© Photo by William Suarez
Adam
Climate Activist
A lifelong climate professional who works to shift Canada’s pension funds away from fossil fuels. Calm and articulate on the surface, but driven by a simmering rage at the urgency of the crisis and the slow pace of change. “We’re winning, but we’re winning too slowly.”
Ruth Goodwin as Meredith
GLOBExCHANGE conference, February 12 2025
© Photo by William Suarez
Meredith
Community organizer
A socialist environmentalist who believes facts don’t change minds – feelings do. Meredith practices “deep canvassing,” searching for emotional common ground beneath political divides. While others debate technology and policy, she cuts through to ask what few dare to: What drives you? What do you actually need? Where does your hope come from?
A Portable Performance for Real-World Conversations
Designed to spark dialogue wherever people meet.
Porte Parole has created a 45-minute version of The Assembly – Energy in Canada designed for conferences, schools, and corporate or community events. This immersive format brings the performance directly into spaces where discussions about energy, climate, and the future of Canada are taking place. Blending art and dialogue, it offers participants a creative, thought-provoking way to explore why the energy transition is so polarizing, and how we might talk about it differently.
Interested in hosting a performance?
Get in touch with us to transform your conference, classroom, or gathering into a space for open dialogue.
Text and Original Concept
Alex Ivanovici, Annabel Soutar and Brett Watson
Director
Chris Abraham
Sound Design
Antoine Bédard
Stage Manager
Tracy Lynn Cann
