Nominations for the Startup Canada Awards now open
OTTAWA – May 12, 2016 – Startup Canada opened nominations today for the third annual Startup Canada Awards, which recognizes those driving impact and demonstrating excellence in Canada’s entrepreneurship and innovation community.
In the third year of the program, Startup Canada has added six awards to the docket including a High-Growth Entrepreneurship Award, Women Entrepreneur Award, Indigenous Entrepreneur Award, Newcomer Entrepreneur Award, Resilient Entrepreneur Award and the Startup Canada Policy Prize to represent the diversity and ambition of Canada’s entrepreneurship community.
“The Canada of the 21st century will be defined by our ability to innovate, grow globally competitive businesses and by a culture that recognizes entrepreneurial ambition and skills as a revered value.” said Victoria Lennox, CEO of Startup Canada. “The Startup Canada Awards celebrate and give a platform to Canada’s most entrepreneurial citizens to grow their companies and inspire the next set of changemakers to pursue their business ideas.”
Past recipients of the Startup Canada Awards include the Hon. Paul Martin, founder of the Capital for Aboriginal Prosperity and Entrepreneurship (CAPE) Fund, menswear brand Frank and Oak, Natalie Dakers, President & CEO of Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator and Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech.
Individuals, businesses, and organizations can submit nominations for the 2016 Startup Canada Awards until July 20, 2016 at 11:59 ET. Regional award winners will be announced at grassroots startup events across Canada this fall, with the grand finale taking place in Toronto in November 2016. The complete list of awards and critia can be found at StartupAward.ca.
Regional Awards Ceremonies will be hosted by entrepreneur support partners in cities across Canada this fall. The following partners will host regional ceremonies:
- Ignite Fredericton & the Startup Fredericton Task Force in Fredericton, NB
- Spring.is in Vancouver, BC
- Startup Whitehorse in Whitehorse, YT
- Startup Waterloo in Waterloo, ON
- TEC Edmonton in Edmonton, AB
- La Gare in Montreal, QC
For more information, please contact:
Kathryn Forrest
Communications & Marketing Manager, Startup Canada
1-844-782-7801 ext. 106
Renee Tavares
Programs Coordinator, Startup Canada
1-844-782-7801 ext. 105
Renee.Tavares@startupcan.ca
About the Startup Canada Awards
The Startup Canada Awards celebrate and distinguish outstanding achievement in advancing Canadian entrepreneurship.
The objectives of the awards are to:
- Celebrate those working to advance entrepreneurship in Canada;
- Increase awareness of the importance of strengthening Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and culture; and,
- Incentivize efforts and elevate the ambitions of the Canadian entrepreneurial community.
2015 finalists and recipients can be found here. Photos from the 2014 and 2015 Startup Canada Awards can be found on the Startup Canada Flickr Page. For more information, visit www.startupaward.ca.
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the leading national social enterprise supporting and giving a voice to entrepreneurs through online programs, national awards, flagship events, and partnerships with private sector and government to foster a community for startup and small business success across the country. For more information, visit www.startupcan.ca.