Canada is bursting with great ideas. Some of them are small, affecting a single community. Some are changing the whole world.
In a way, the scope hardly matters. When innovation strikes, it tends to spread. You see a bold new solution affecting one part of your life and you start thinking about other ways to make a difference. Great ideas are everyone’s business.
That’s why, in 2018, the Rideau Hall Foundation convened the Canadian Innovation Space, a partnership of cross-disciplinary organizations that strives to build a stronger, more resilient culture of innovation in Canada. A major component of the program is Canadian Innovation Week, which takes place annually in the third week of May and aims to shine a spotlight on the people and organizations developing technology and programs to improve the lives of Canadians and the health of our communities and ecosystems from coast to coast to coast.
Use this map to explore some of the inspirations that are touching all aspects of Canadian life, all of them laureates of RHF-supported granting and recognition programs including the Governor General’s Innovation Awards, the Arctic Inspiration Prize, Catapult Canada and Ingenious+. Whether it’s monitoring the effects of climate change on Arctic sea ice or tracking COVID-19 before anyone else thought to or envisioning more respectful ways to do research on Indigenous lands, Canadians are designing a better future.