Events › Renewing Democracy: Do Citizens Actually Matter?

In 2026, people seem more disenchanted with politics than ever. Cynicism is rising, trust is eroding, and engaging in politics feels uninspiring – or worse, threatening. Social media platforms divide us and amplify outrage, disinformation is rampant, even our conversations feel polarized.

The bad news: this is how democracy dies and authoritarians win.

The good news: There is still power in the public — but how can we harness it to fight for the future of our communities?

Join co-author Richard Johnson and politics reporter Jen St. Denis (The Tyee) for a conversation about his book Democracy's Second Act, as he shares stories of democratic innovations from more than a dozen countries, and shows how there is still hope for democracy if we can tap the power of people in meaningful ways.

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Richard Johnson is a former journalist and current policy director at MASS LBP. His writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, This Magazine, The New Quarterly, and many others. A former Fellow in Literary Journalism at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, he was also a longtime writer for the award-winning podcast Trailblazers, with Walter Isaacson.

Jen St. Denis is a senior editor with The Tyee. She has covered a variety of topics, including housing, the overdose crisis, civic issues, politics and justice. In 2023, she won a Canadian Association of Journalists written news award for her reporting on a fatal fire at the Winters Hotel in Vancouver. In 2024, her reporting on three cases involving missing Indigenous women and youth was nominated for the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Landsberg Award.

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This event is presented in partnership with The Tyee and is part of DXC+ Vancouver by DemocracyXChange.  Attendees will receive complimentary access to a livestream of the 7th annual DemocracyxChange Summit happening in Toronto from April 16–18. 

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Accessibility: VPL is committed to making our programs accessible for all. If you have an access need that we have not addressed here, please email us at programs@vpl.ca.

• Elevator access to the Alice MacKay Room is available in the concourse near the bank machine.
• There will be designated spaces for wheelchairs and patrons with mobility devices.

For more information on physical access, view the Accessibility information on the Central Library page.