How a flagship American conference in Vancouver is coping with political chaos
TED attendees, presenters hope progressive resilience can counter U.S. administration
The American conference known for its short, often inspiring talks on technology, entertainment and design is in Vancouver, bringing some of the brightest and most creative thinkers — along with those with very deep pockets — to Canada, at a time when much of the world is in chaos due to the U.S. administration.
Attendees at this year's TED conference say one of the hottest topics being discussed more in the wings than on the stage is how to react to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose threats involve the economy and sovereignty of Canada, which is hosting the conference.
"I think it's one of many elephants in the room this year," said Ina Fried, the chief technology correspondent for Axios, who's been coming to Vancouver for TED for nine years.
The five-day conference, which wraps up Friday, has been held in Vancouver in April since 2014, thanks to the city's sparkling waterfront, framing mountains and malleable conference centre.
This year, it comes at a time when Trump is upending global trade with sweeping tariffs or threats.
"We've seen protests in years past against TED … the economic power it represents," said Fried. "I actually expected there might be a little more of that sentiment. It's not visible here as much as I thought it might be, but … it's clearly under the surface."
'So ashamed and so embarrassed'
Teri Orr, from Park City, Utah, has come to the TED conferences since 2006.
"This is the first time I was so ashamed and so embarrassed and so nearly defeated about the state of the United States and loving being in Canada, loving Canadian people," said the 74-year-old.
TED's approach means to capture the zeitgeist over emerging societal changes. Recently the focus has been on AI, but this year, organizers tried to balance that with how Trump is shaking up the globe, according to Chris Anderson, the head of the non-profit TED.
"A lot of us are shocked at how fast the world is moving right now, politically, culturally, technologically, hardly a day passes without an unsettling new drama," Anderson wrote in the conference program.
TED is trying to inspire change and innovation, without being political.
'What the U.S. needs now'
Some attendees such as Daniel Newman, president of MapLight, which makes software to help voters track donations to politicians in the U.S., want TED to take a stand and bring in speakers who have fought repressive regimes.
"I would love to see TED really looking at what's going on in countries where their democracy has been threatened and what people have done to push back and restore democracy. I think that's what the U.S. needs now."
In 2023 TED launched TED Democracy — one of several offshoot conferences — meant to "reform systems and reignite civic culture."
A speaker at this year's Vancouver flagship conference, Bradley Tusk, received a standing ovation from the audience after sharing his idea to vastly increase voting in the U.S. by allowing it through a secure, open-sourced smartphone app.
His family's Tusk Philanthropies is behind the initiative Mobile Voting, which so far has piloted mobile voting projects, for demographics such as those with disabilities, in 20 elections across seven states.
"We can end the dysfunction and polarization that plagues our society today," he said about wanting the technology to be widely adopted.
TED and the aid hole
Meanwhile, there is new pressure on TED to help fill a massive hole in international development created by the U.S. administration's gutting of USAID, which saw about $60 billion cut.
A portion of 2025's TED conference had international speakers sharing the work they were doing abroad to address problems such as displacement, poverty and violence.
Since 2018, TED has helped raise more than $3 billion to fund projects that it says makes "the world more beautiful, sustainable and just."
The conference has proven fertile for connecting wealthy benefactors, often sitting in its theatre, listening to inspiring speakers who narrate dynamic work in places that could be overlooked by North Americans.
Myriam Sidibe, the author of Brands on a Mission: How to Achieve Social Impact and Business Growth Through Purpose, said TED's role for international development is needed now more than ever.
"People are rallying," she said following her 2025 talk. "They want something to hang on to and to believe in, and I think this is what we're offering them, something very tangible."
Sidibe tries to convince companies that investing in social initiatives, such as she did with Unilever, having it invest in a campaign that resulted in behaviour change over hand washing to save lives, is good for the world and for business.
The end of TED Vancouver
Meanwhile, Monique Ruff-Bell, TED's chief program and strategy officer, told attendees the 2026 edition of TED in Vancouver would be its last in the city.
She said the organization has been working on a new location for several years and will return to California in 2027, the state where the conference began in 1992.
"It's going to be hard to leave Vancouver because we have such an amazing partnership with the Vancouver Convention Centre," she said, adding the only reason behind the move is a desire for a "refresh."
Attendees spend between $6,250 and $25,000 US to be in Vancouver, and at its height the conference sold out at 2,000 attendees, but now those numbers have tightened to around 1,600.
Ruff-Bell said the wildfires in L.A. and financial markets affected attendance this year.
Orr said she will miss her annual trips to Vancouver, but understands that change is important, especially now for a conference trying to be at the forefront of it.
"We are twisting and turning and shedding and trying to find new ways of looking forward."
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