Today on the podcast, I speak with the lovely Maggie Hildebrand, founder of Connection Collective Toronto, and something tells me one day it will be much bigger than just Toronto!

Maggie founded the social club in June 2025 after spending over a year in the city struggling to find her community. By openly sharing her own experiences with loneliness, she quickly realized there were so many others searching for meaningful connection and a space dedicated to building genuine, lasting friendships.

What started as a simple idea grew rapidly. From hosting her very first event, a picnic in High Park with over 100 attendees, to building a thriving community, Maggie’s vision has truly come to life. So much so that in February 2026, she made the decision to leave her 9–5 career in cancer research to pursue Connection Collective full-time. I’m so excited to share this conversation with you and hope you take something meaningful away from it.

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🔗 Links from the episode

Connection Collective

Connection Collective on Instagram

Maggie Hildebrand on Instagram

She Moved to Toronto and Felt Lonelier than ever, feature article in The Toronto Star

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xx Hannah Octavia

(Theme music curtesy of Fran Lusty's song, "Functioning Adult")

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