Wali Shah (born September 9, 1994) is a Canadian

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, poet, musician and philanthropist. He has spoken most prominently on topics including

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

and social change, while creating spoken word poetry specifically tailored to his projects and engagements. In 2014, he was named by ''

Plan Canada Plan International Canada is the Canadian arm of the relief organization Plan International, a not-for-profit global movement that promotes social justice for youth and their families in more than 65 developing countries. Plan International an ...

'' as one of Canada's "Top 20 Under 20". He currently serves as the

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

for the city of

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. In 2019, he was one of the recipients of the 2019

Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country." Overview First ...

presented by

Canadian Immigrant Magazine ''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alber ...

Early years

Shah's parents immigrated from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1997 when Shah was three, first settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

before moving to

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. As a result, Shah spent a number of years of his youth in Toronto before settling in Mississauga. Shah attended

Cawthra Park Secondary School Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as CPSS, is a public high school built-in 1972 located in Southeast Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two Regional Arts Schools in the Peel District School Board. Cawthra Park provides instructi ...

, his early years being turbulent and culminating in his arrest at the age of 15. This served as a turning point in Shah's life at which point through mentorship and resilience he reformed his lifestyle towards facilitating change in the community. In June 2018, Shah received an Honours Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Political Science from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

's Mississauga campus.

Career

In 2013 Shah released his first project, ''Rhythm & Poetry''. The album spawned the singl
"King of the Castle"
which addressed bullying as a social issue. The song's music video was used by the Peel Region District School Board, and had over 100,000 views on YouTube. It was shown on MTV for WeDay 2014. Following this, Shah collaborated with the Peel Board to create a bullying prevention video title
"Change The World"
On October 2, 2014, Shah was featured alongside actress-musician

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

at the 2014

We Day We Day (stylized as WE Day) was an annual series of stadium-sized youth empowerment events organized by We Charity (formerly known as Free The Children), a Canadian charity founded by brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger. WE Day events host tens ...

conference where he also freestyled with musical artist

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

. His music video "King of the Castle" was featured at the event and would go on to air on

MTV Canada MTV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name and branding used under a licensing agreement with Paramount Global. The channel is devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming, and also airs some ...

. In 2015, Shah was awarded the 3M National Student Fellowship which is presented annually to 10 student leaders across the country. In 2016, Shah was featured in

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

as one of the "new school of social media influencers who have figured out how to capitalize on their online, and real-world, popularity." That same year,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

approached Shah to create and perform a spoken word poem for it
World Partner Conference
in August 2016 at the

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...

. In 2017, Shah was made a local ambassador of the World YMCA organization and received the YMCA Peace Medal from the Greater Toronto chapter. Other peace medal honourees have included professional basketball executive Masai Ujiri and mental health activist

Loizza Aquino Loizza Aquino is a Canadian mental health activist. She speaks publicly on mental health and women empowerment and founded Peace of Mind Canada. Early life and education Loizza Aquino was born in 1999, in Manila, Philippines, but a year later m ...

. Later in 2017, Joggo Bags collaborated with Shah,

, and Diana Smendra to launch the JOGGO Purpose Backpack, a custom item with a portion of proceeds supporting Canadian charitable organization,

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...

Canada. Shah is also an ambassador for organizations such as

Crime Stoppers International Crime Stoppers International Foundation or CSI Foundation (CSI) is an umbrella organization that aims to spread the Crime Stoppers program in countries around the world. Crime Stoppers is a program designed to utilize the media and other resources ...

, Bell Let's Talk, and United Way for which he has raised over one million dollars. On March 30, 2018, Shah was selected as District 86 Toastmasters Communication and Leadership (C&L) award recipient In early 2019, Shah joined the board of directors for Canadian non-profit organization Peace of Mind Canada.Government of Canada. (2020-01-21
"Federal Corporation Information - 1117254-9"
'' Corporations Canada''. Retrieved on 2020-01-27 On August 7, 2019, Shah spoke at the Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremony for Olympic skating champions Tessa Virtue and

Scott Moir Scott Patrick Moir OLY ( ; born September 2, 1987) is a Canadian retired ice dancer and coach. With ice dance partner Tessa Virtue, he is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, ...

. In 2019, Shah spoke at the annual WE Day Toronto event hosted by WE Charity (formerly Free The Children) at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. He was later added to the lineup for other WE Day events in Canada, including Alberta, Vancouver, and Atlantic Canada (Halifax, Nova Scotia).Bruce, Jessie. (2019-10-31
"WE Day Atlantic: Courage, compassion, and wisdom tools needed to change the world"
'' SaltWire Network''. Retrieved on 2020-01-23

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Wali 1994 births Living people Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian philanthropists Canadian spoken word poets Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian male musicians Poets Laureate of places in Canada