The Canoe - Le Canoë

10/26/2026

So grateful to Faithfully Driven for the invitation to take part in such a wonderful conversation on , and , and how they shape the experiences we might have in !

Check out the conversation with founder Paul Simard today and let us know your thoughts!

🎙️ NEW EPISODE JUST DROPPED! ❤️Paul Simard

What if everything we need to understand about living, loving, and connecting could be learned from those facing the end of life?

In this powerful new episode of What’s Love Got to Do With It?, I’m joined by Paul Simard, death doula and advocate for men’s emotional well-being, for a conversation that challenges us to think differently about life, love, and loss.

We explore the intersection of love, death, grief, vulnerability, and what it truly means to be alive.

✨ Why are we so afraid to talk about death?
✨ What can grief teach us about love?
✨ Why do so many men struggle to express their emotions?
✨ How might embracing our mortality change the way we live TODAY?

This conversation is deeply human and a beautiful reminder that love and loss are not opposites. They’re intimately connected.

💜 THE EPISODE IS LIVE NOW!

📺 Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/CzuLZ65ZtlE?is=gFT7wqBwqoyrBl8T

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it/id6817052514?i=1000798147584

If this conversation resonates with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it.

And I’d love to know…

If you truly understood how precious and fleeting life is, what would you do differently today? ❤️

10/21/2026

Understanding what a Grief / Death Doula actually does...

We get this question a lot when we are meeting people, or hosting one of our monthly events.

And while the ways that a death doula might support someone is more than just accompaniment, that is at the core of what they do.

The latest blog from The Canoe offers more into what this emerging service offers individuals, families and community.

What does a death doula do? Learn how a Montreal death doula can support individuals and families before, during and after death alongside medical and palliat

10/02/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗴: 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀

Navigating grief when we have had someone we love die "makes sense". We have suddenly been pulled into a reality where a person we cared about deeply will no longer be a part of the future we imagined.

But what about Grief when the relationship was less clear?

The parent who was largely absent. The grandparent who was verbally abusive. The partner who felt estranged. The sibling who hadn't spoken to you in 10 years.

This is a particular kind of grief, and it can ask things of us we never thought would arrive after their death.

And that is what we explore in the most recent blog from The Canoe.

Grief after a difficult, estranged or complicated relationship can hold love, anger, relief and longing at once. A human approach to complicated grief.

09/28/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐠 - 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤: 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

Grief does not end when bereavement leave does. In this piece, we explore a more human approach to grief at work, workplace bereavement and employee grief support in Montreal and across Canada.

09/23/2026

The Latest Blog post from The Canoe - Le Canoë

End-of-life planning in Montreal can care for more than your own wishes. The Canoe’s Crossing Conversation helps families prepare for the dying, the death, and the grief that continues afterward.

We are here to support you and your family throughout, and there is no deeper honor for us than to do so.

09/14/2026

𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 & 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵

We have a tendency in western culture to want to protect our children from grief, dying and death.

It's understandable - these feel like things that might "steal their youth", that they should be focused on play, and "being kids".

At The Canoe - Le Canoë, we believe that including young people in these conversations, and navigating these times as a family / community, actually offer them a more honest and complete way of not only living their lives as young people, it prepares them much more fully for their transition into adulthood, and the losses that come as we move through life.

09/11/2026

𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 - 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

There has never been a more important moment for us to understand the relationship between grief and mental health.

Because we have never had so many reasons to grieve as we do now, and our mental health has never been so important.

And getting support for both could be one of the most important things we choose to do for ourselves, and for those we love.



The Canoe - Le Canoë

Grief affects the body as well as the heart. Explore how compassionate grief support in Montreal can help protect health, connection and well-being after loss

09/10/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗔 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗱-𝗼𝗳-𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀

One of the things that The Canoe - Le Canoë invites families to consider that many others do not - how will the those who will live beyond the death of a loved one carry their grief, how will they hold the death of a person they hold so close to their hearts?

The Crossing Conversation is not about logistics. Not only.

It is about ensuring that the families and loved ones feel supported and nourished as they learn how to grieve for the time to come after the death.

It is about creating the conditions so that the new way of moving through the world feels as though they were considered when it was being acknowledged as a thing that would soon become reality.

The Crossing Conversation is perhaps one of the most differentiating offers that we have here at The Canoe, and we hold the responsibility that comes with it gently.

If you or your loved ones are curious and want to learn more, please reach out. We are here to support you on this journey.

End-of-life planning in Montreal can care for more than your own wishes. The Canoe’s Crossing Conversation helps families prepare for the dying, the death, an

09/09/2026

𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗚 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞'𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

Life. We treasure it, celebrate it. When a child is born, it truly is miraculous. We seek to protect that life, at all costs. We want to savor every moment of it as we live our own.

Life, in short, is held with reverence.

And yet, what happens when a life comes to an end?

The funeral is often as soon as possible. The person who died, seeking to "not be a burden", may have asked for something simple, or not at all. We might even call it a Celebration of Life.

We get 5 days of bereavement leave, if we are lucky. A little longer in the form of friends reaching out, offering meals.

And then, if at all possible... we move on. We want to. And those around us, really want us to.

Time to get back to living.

If we listen closely, there is something that feels oddly... rushed through all this. Whether the life was one of 90 years or 19 or perhaps, sadly, 9... surely that life, for all it was made of, is worthy of more than a copy-paste, hurriedly put together "celebration"?

The Canoe - Le Canoë and those we work with absolutely believe that to be so. And more than anything, the celebration should not just one of a life, it should be one that reflects the life that is being celebrated.

Working with the families and loved ones, The Canoe is there to create a Celebration that truly reflects the life, and those who will carry their grief forward, of the person being celebrated.

And a Celebration is only one of the ways that we might support families.

Grief, for individuals or families, the Anniversary of a Death, burial celebrations... we are here to support and accompany you during a time where few are willing, and fewer still ready to do so as if we were family.

If you are wanting to learn more, we are here.

e. [email protected]
m. 514.503.2116
www.thecanoe.co

Looking for a Celebration of Life in Montreal? Explore a flexible, personalized and affordable alternative to a conventional funeral or memorial service.

09/04/2026

𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙛 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙏𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙡

A Celebration Of Life should reflect the Life of the person being celebrated - from the way they lived their life to the people they loved, and to what they would hope for those who not only present, but to all whose life they may have touched.

This past week, Paul was asked to officiate the Celebration of a young person who had recently died. The Celebration was not only well attended in person, it was streamed to people around the world who knew the person.

Working closely with the family, but was able to weave together a Celebration that not only reflected the life being celebrated, it invited those who were present to carry with them their memories of this young person in a way that would shape their days to come. To allow the way this life touched them to continue to touch others.

And this beautiful reflection was shared by the funeral home director who was in attendance.

This is why The Canoe - Le Canoë was created almost 6 years ago. To offer families the opportunity to celebrate their loved ones, whether in the days or weeks following their death, or in memorial many years later, in a way that echoes the life remembered.

It is our deepest honor to do this work, and we welcome the opportunity to offer the same personalized care and attention to all the families we work with.

e. [email protected]
m. 514.503.2116