How are we – and how should we be – training the next generation of geographers in Canada? How are we – and how should we be – (re)producing and (re)defining the discipline of geography? As frequent instructors of the required PhD courses in our department, we have asked each other these questions numerous times over the past many years. Inspired by ongoing conversations within geography as well as other disciplines, particularly related to decolonization and Indigenization, other(ed) ways of knowing, inclusivity, disciplinary divides, mental health, well-being, and career preparedness, we examined the current norms and practices in Canadian PhD programs. Following Kinkaid and Fritzsche (2022), and their examination of graduate geography courses in the United States, we collected and analyzed 20 syllabi from required PhD courses in 15 Geography departments across Canada. We explore the common themes and implicit stories in these syllabi of ‘what Geography is,’ while also identifying ways in which these syllabi are working to re-story the discipline. We conclude with lessons we are applying in our own work to re-design the required PhD courses in our department.