The Wild Card Race is the final chance for speakers to earn their way into the Grand Slam: Inspirational Speaking Finals, Speaker Slam®'s biggest stage of the year.
The Grand Slam: Catalyst
On November 21st, 2026, fourteen of the year's best speakers take the CBC Glenn Gould Studio stage on the theme of Catalyst to compete for the title of Inspirational Speaker of the Year and a prize package valued up to $50,000. Ten earned their place by finishing in the top two at a qualifier this season. Four more spots are decided here.
How the Race Works
Speaker Slam® has invited 10 speakers who delivered powerful talks this season and did not advance: strong scores, big reactions in the room, speakers who went over time, and speakers who have kept building momentum since their night on stage.
Voting: September 22nd to September 23rd, 2026, closing at 11:59 PM ET, at speakerslam.com/vote.
Selection: 2 speakers advance on the highest vote counts. 2 more are selected by the Speaker Slam® team, weighing votes, speech quality, momentum, and audience support.
Results: announced by September 26th, 2026.
One vote per person, tied to a single email address. When you vote, you can leave a few words for the speaker you chose; every candidate receives their messages after the race.
The Speakers
- Donna Murphy, The Road Less Traveled
- Karen Craggs, Breakthrough
- Duncan Brown, Breakthrough
- Lilly White, Identity
- Jane Barratt, Identity
- Carol-Anne Schneider, Reinvention
- Yvette Murray, The Road Less Traveled
- Gillian Nycum, Breakthrough
- Santo Chiappetta, Breakthrough
- Sophie Fengaras, Breakthrough
Read about every year of the race, and the wild cards who went on to win it all, on the Wild Card Race page.