The conference is a four-day event taking place June 26-29, 2023, at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto, that will feature scheduled events for delegates, including plenary sessions with guest speakers and workshops for Salvation Army employees, officers and members of the greater Salvationist community in the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

The conference will be followed by a weekend of congress events taking place at Toronto’s Massey Hall and Westin Harbour Castle Hotel June 30-July 2, 2023, with General Brian Peddle and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle, international leaders of The Salvation Army, in attendance. Events will include a Friday evening welcome service, the ordination and commissioning of the Reflectors of Holiness Session, Canada Day celebrations, family events, Skeleton Army performances, a march of witness through the streets of downtown Toronto and a Sunday morning worship service.

INSPIRE 2023 is strictly a territorial event for the Canada and Bermuda Territory. Invitations to attend will not be extended to those residing outside Canada or Bermuda. Any international delegates and guest speakers who are required to attend will receive a formal invitation from the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

There are no fees associated with your registration for INSPIRE 2023. All events happening at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and Massey Hall, including conference workshops, plenary sessions, Skeleton Army performances, worship services, selected meals and special gala dinners are offered free of charge.

The following meals are included as part of your registration:

Monday, June 26^th

• ^{Welcome Gala Dinner}

Tuesday, June 27^th

• ^Breakfast
• ^Lunch

Wednesday, June 28^th

• ^Breakfast
• ^Lunch

Thursday, June 29^th

• ^Breakfast
• ^Lunch
• ^{Dinner (Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony)}

Friday, June 30^th

• ^{Lunch – Officers' Luncheon (Invite Only)}
• ^{Dinner - National Advisory Board Dinner (Invite Only)}

Saturday, July 1^st

• ^{Breakfast – Prayer Breakfast}
• ^{Lunch - Silver Star Luncheon (Invite Only)}
• ^{Dinner - Candidates reception (Invite Only)}

Sunday, July 2^nd

• ^{Lunch - March of Witness}

Any meals not listed above are not included as part of your registration, are a personal expense and can be enjoyed at your leisure.

A complete schedule of events is available on our event registration site. Visit Summary - Inspire Conference & Congress 2023 and use the top menu bar to navigate through pages related to the agenda, conference workshops, venue locations and to register for INSPIRE 2023.

During conference week, teens aged 13-18 will have the option of participating in day trips to popular Toronto attractions on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of conference week. The Youth Department will contact registered youth/families about day trip availability once details are confirmed, so ensure you register your teens as soon as possible. Also, don’t forget teens can take part in amazing youth-focused events on Friday and Saturday nights of congress weekend. Youth who would like to serve during the weekend as volunteers can contact THQ.Inspire@salvationarmy.ca for more information.

The congress team has reserved a block of rooms for you and will send a confirmation number in the weeks ahead. 

Please note that all social mission executive directors are required to attend the conference and are encouraged to stay for congress weekend. 

The congress team has reserved a block of rooms for you and will send a confirmation number in the weeks ahead.

Once you’ve completed your online registration through our dedicated website (Summary - Inspire Conference & Congress 2023), your official confirmation page will give the option to connect directly with the Westin H­arbour Castle Hotel Toronto, or the additional hotels that are being secured, to select the duration of your stay between check-in on Monday, June 26, and check-out on Sunday, July 2, 2023, or Monday, July 3, 2023 (subject to availability), as well as your preferred room type based on current availability. If necessary, you can also link directly to the hotel’s booking site at The Salvation Army National Conferences and Territorial Congress.

Here are a few points of additional information to consider:

• As a territorial event, active Salvation Army officers are required to attend both the conference and congress. Active officers will be required to book their own hotel accommodation using their corporate Visa and using the INSPIRE expense coding that has been provided. Travel expenses will be covered by the local ministry unit.
  
  
• For all sponsored divisional delegates planning to attend congress only, you are responsible to book your own accommodation and travel arrangements to congress using the subsidy that will be provided for you. 
  
  
  • If you are a sponsored divisional delegate and have also registered for the conference, you will have to work with the conference logistics team (THQ.Inspire@salvationarmy.ca) to ensure that your hotel accommodations have been secured. Any additional costs incurred during the conference week are a personal expense.  
    
    
• Upon completion of your room booking through the hotel’s website, you will receive a separate reservation confirmation email directly from the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel Toronto, or additional hotel, regarding your scheduled stay. Please keep this information handy while you continue to make your travel plans. 

Active officers or ministry unit leads will be covered for up to seven nights of hotel accommodation between check-in on Monday, June 26, and check-out on Monday, July 3. Room charges associated with any dates before June 26 or after July 3 are a personal expense and are not eligible for reimbursement or payment by your local ministry unit.

 Employees who are required to attend the conference will be covered for the duration of the conference. If they wish to attend the congress (weekend event), accommodations will be covered by their ministry unit.

 Sponsored divisional delegates will use the subsidy provided to cover the costs of accommodation for two nights for the congress weekend. If attending the conference as well, you will need to work with the logistics team to secure additional accommodation for the weekday events. Please note that if you have already booked your hotel reservations without Sunday, July 2, as originally desired, please contact the hotel directly and have this additional night added to your existing reservation at your earliest convenience.

Yes! Those who have young children can access childcare services through Improv Care (https://www.improvcare.ca/), who will be available on site for children ages 12 and under during the conference, and Grade 1 and younger during congress weekend. “Army Con,” a night of fun activities for young people, is planned for Friday, June 30, and a family carnival will take place on Saturday, July 1. For active officers or ministry unit leads, Salvation Army childcare allowances can be used to support applicable travel expenses for attending children.

If a workshop session is sold out, you will need to choose a new option that still has space in it. Waitlists are no longer valid. Everyone is now being encouraged to use your confirmation number and go back into your registration to remove your name from the waitlists and choose one of the new workshop options that have been made available. Each workshop has been assigned to a room within Westin Harbour Castle Hotel’s conference centre, and each room has a different capacity for fire regulations. To gain admittance to a workshop, the QR-coded name badge that you will receive at onsite registration on Monday, June 26, which matches the information from your online registration, will be scanned by the workshop’s host. Anyone who has not pre-registered for that particular workshop will be directed to their appropriate session, or to one of the overflow areas.

No. Once you have successfully registered for INSPIRE 2023, you will be directed to a confirmation page where it states your confirmation number. The direct link to reserve a room at Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, or any of the additional hotels, is shared on this page, along with a link to an applicable flight discount code for those who may need it.

Please direct all questions regarding INSPIRE Conference & Congress 2023 to our official event inbox, THQ.Inspire@salvationarmy.ca.

Volunteer opportunities will be available. If you are interested in volunteering contact at thq.inspire@salvationarmy.ca.

Employees will be compensated in accordance with their corresponding provincial employment standard.

This year, Canada Day falls on Saturday, July 1, 2023. This means that divisional and territorial headquarters of The Salvation Army and other ministry units operating on a Monday-to-Friday schedule will observe Canada Day on Monday, July 3, 2023. Ministry units that normally operate on Saturdays will observe the holiday on July 1, 2023.

Where staff is not scheduled to work on July 1, 2023, payment or time off should be in accordance with provincial legislation or if unionized, the respective collective agreement.

The employee’s ministry unit/department will pay for travel costs and meals (not provided) in accordance with Finance Operating Policy FN 06.002. Sponsored divisional delegates who have been approved to attend and have registered for the conference will have hotel expenses paid for by the INSPIRE budget. Some meals will also be provided.

Mileage and parking expenses will be paid to attend the Conference in accordance with Finance Operating Policy FN 06.002. The Ministry Unit/Department may choose to pay for mileage and parking expenses to attend Congress, in accordance with Finance Operating Policy FN 06.002.

Yes. We will be providing a shuttle service to transport attendees between the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and Massey Hall. These shuttles will operate on a loop throughout the day and at key times. There will also be accessible transportation options available.