Drake gives away $500K at Casa Loma charity event celebrating Toronto women

Drake hosted the third annual "Strong Women, Stronger Drinks" event at Casa Loma on Tuesday, celebrating hundreds of Toronto women with a luxury dinner, speeches, and giveaways totalling more than $500,000.

Ten women received $50,000 cash gifts each, and several attendees received luxury vehicles. Drake said the annual celebration builds on a 2007 networking event called "What Women Want" hosted by Shanay Engleton. "At 'What Women Want,' it was essentially women gathering to network, to socialize," Drake explained to the crowd. "To be a man at the event, you had to work, and I always loved that aspect of it. So we would show up in black, and we would work the event, and we would make sure everybody was taken care of, because that's what the night was about."

Attendees enjoyed five-course meals, cocktails, and post-dinner surprises. Model agency founder Janelle, an attendee, shared on Instagram: "Last night wasn't just about luxury, it was about possibility. A room filled with ambitious women...The reminder I left with? Keep working when no one is watching."

Online response was largely celebratory, with many praising Drake's generosity. One X user wrote: "You can't compare to what he's doing for people. All the Goats took took took. He gives." However, some questioned whether the money could have been directed toward greater need. "Why not give the cash to women's shelters?" one Instagram user asked. Another wrote: "It'd be nice if he gave back to people who need it...not people who already have it."