We were thrilled when Hockey Canada presented us with signed Team Canada jerseys to celebrate our centennial. The jerseys were signed by Canada’s National Women’s Team Captain, Marie-Philip Poulin and delivered to over 50 minor hockey associations and Indigenous organizations across the country. We hope the jerseys can help raise funds for these organizations in meaningful ways.

We also distributed jerseys to our offices for employee and community engagement throughout the year. We are thankful to be able to give back and participate in this unique opportunity.

Our people love to give back to the communities we live and work in. On September 12, 2021, our BDO team came together to run, ride, wheel, or walk in support of Food Banks Canada for the second annual BDO Goes the distance. As a firm, we raised over $95,000 for this event.

 We recently completed a successful 2021 Drive Away Hunger campaign across the country in our local offices. From “Pie-A-Manager” to online auctions, our team continued to fight hunger together from coast-to-coast to reach our goal of one million meals. BDO matched 100,000 meals toward our goal to celebrate our centennial.

There was abuzz of excitement across the firm with our people trying to guess which surprise performer was going to show up to celebrate BDO 100. It was the legendary Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo, and they gave us a memorable performance on Oct. 6.

The Juno Award-winning band rocked out with an amazing performance. Our CEO, Pat Kramer, also had the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with the band’s lead singer, Jim Cuddy.

The Greater Vancouver Area wanted to celebrate BDO 100 through 100 Acts of Kindness. We are proud to say they far exceeded their target of 100 acts.

 Some sample acts completed included: donating blood, cleaning up litter at a local park, planting a tree, donating flowers to a nursing home, and helping someone move. Beyond BDO’s 100^th year, the offices look forward to participating in more initiatives like this in the future.

Our people in the Greater Toronto Area rose to the occasion and participated in the 100 Minutes of Wellness Challenge in March. They hosted three half-hour yoga sessions per week and the first 10 people to reach 100 minutes won a prize. It was a great way for our people to connect beyond their usual workday and prioritize their well-being.

Leading up to our year-end 100^th anniversary celebration, our people across Canada were asked to enter short videos of their various talents—ones that dazzle.

With an impressive display of acts across the country, we received 105 video submissions and 8,024 votes for our various talents. The top three finalists were: Jordan Poirier (vocal cover), Rolland Wang (piano), Julie Kelly (wakesurfing with her son). 

Some notable prizes were given out to the top three finalists, top voted entries, and top entries by region. We’re so incredibly proud to see all the amazing talents shared from coast to coast!

You can’t celebrate 100 years without a collection of birthday wishes. So, a few of our people from across the country shared videos, wishing BDO a happy birthday—all in their unique ways.

From musical gestures to blowing out candles, with appearances from family members (furry ones too)—our people highlighted the ultimate triple-digit birthday milestone.  

To celebrate BDO’s 100^th birthday, our partners and employees in Manitoba were asked to send photos of what 100 looks like to them. Entries ranged from a newly built 10x10 deck, 100 golf balls, s’mores, books, push-ups, and more.

Shawn Friesen, Tax Partner from Portage La Prairie, challenged himself to catch 100 fish in 2021. Being an avid fisherman, he surpassed his goal—proudly displaying an impressive Pike he caught in the featured photo.

To remember our 100^th year, we hosted a kick-off celebration event for our partners and people. During this live, virtual, firm-wide event, Canadian artist Jessica Gorlicky (photographed by Eric Carriere) created a collaborative, live painting. The masterpiece incorporates our teams’ collective thoughts and vision from coast to coast, highlighting our firm culture.

The event also featured an appearance from a special guest—Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield. Hadfield shared inspirational words that really solidified the feeling of community BDO people across Canada share and have been proud to cultivate for the past century.

As a gift to all our employees and partners across Canada, we collaborated with Toronto’s Get Fresh Company—supporting a local business dedicated to helping surrounding communities. The Get Fresh team, with support from BDO’s design team, hand crafted two styles of sweaters—a hoodie and a crew neck—with BDO 100 branding to commemorate our 100^th year. These designs are unique to BDO and were locally produced completely from scratch.

To wrap up this incredible milestone year, we’re recapping some of the ways our people celebrated our centennial anniversary across Canada throughout 2021. From custom swag, to showcasing talents, to bringing a little more sunshine and activity into our day-to-days—BDO 100 came to life in many ways this year. Namely, it kept us more connected than ever as we worked together to celebrate 100 wonderful years.  

10 ways BDO Canada celebrated 100 years