IEF Launches Flagship Awards Program Digitally

In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the 2020 CANIE Awards will be entirely digital. “In this time of great uncertainty,” said Kayla Isabelle, Board Chair of the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation and Executive Director of Startup Canada, “it’s important to be mindful that many entrepreneurs are not currently in a position to be celebrating. That is why this year’s Awards will focus on the stories of entrepreneurs who have faced uncertainty and failure, and demonstrated resilience.”

To focus on storytelling, each CANIE Awards Digital Tour stop will include inspiring keynotes from our regional winners. Details about the winners and keynotes will be announced in the coming weeks. After receiving 700 expressions of interest, and 400 applications from across Canada—IEF is ready to honour the winners and inspire this nation’s relentless perseverance.
Even though the Awards will be presented digitally this year, the CANIE Awards will still aim to provide a pan-Canadian perspective on entrepreneurship and innovation. As such the CANIE Awards Digital Tour includes 5 regional digital events:

Ontario – May 28 
British Columbia – June 4
Prairies – June 11
Atlantic – June 18
Quebec – June 25

The events are open to anyone to attend, regardless of region. The Grand Finale will bring together all of Canada and will take place in the fall of 2020.
In addition to the Digital Awards Tour, IEF will be launching several design thinking sessions and a series of Innovation Roundtables in partnership with Startup Canada. These roundtables will bring together CANIE Award recipients and industry partners to discuss topics related to each of the CANIE Award categories. Outcomes from these sessions will be presented to the government in an insights report on the current innovation and entrepreneurship landscape.

For more information, to schedule interviews, and to secure your media pass, please contact: 

Micah Rakoff Bellman
Marketing & Communications Manager
(613) 627-0787 Ext. 103
micah.rakoff.bellman@startupcan.ca

About the CANIE Awards
The CANIE Awards celebrate and distinguish outstanding achievements in advancing Canadian entrepreneurship.

The objectives of the awards are to:

• Recognize excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship across Canada by celebrating the impressive journeys and achievements of disruptors that contribute every day to the country’s entrepreneurial landscape.
• Build a network of individuals and organizations that share our passion for supporting the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem and want to contribute to its future.
• Inspire Canada’s present and future generations to be entrepreneurial innovators by sharing stories of leadership, resilience, disruption, and success in entrepreneurship.
• Promote entrepreneurial mindsets among Canadian youth with workshops on innovation, ideation, and execution.
• Increase awareness of Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and the importance of strengthening our culture of innovation.
• Inspire others to make an impact by telling your story of resilience and legacy.

For more information, visit www.ief-fie.ca. Stay up-to-date by following the Innovators & Entrepreneurs Foundation on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is Canada’s entrepreneurship organization. Startup Canada promotes and supports the success and growth of Canada’s 3.5 million entrepreneurs, with a mandate to foster economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity through entrepreneurship. Since launching, Startup Canada’s programming has directly supported more than 200,000 entrepreneurs and 50 grassroots Startup Community organizations. Working with over 750 ecosystem partners, including accelerators, incubators, research parks, educational institutions, economic development agencies, associations, and government programs, Startup Canada serves entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, industries, and stages of development, with a network reflective of Canada’s diverse population. Learn more at startupcan.ca.

About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the web at ups.com and its corporate blog can be found at longitudes.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, follow @UPS_Canada on Twitter.

About Sovereign Insurance
Sovereign Insurance risk solutions, services, and expertise help protect companies if they’ve experienced a setback, and more importantly, help companies avoid a setback in the first place. They take a comprehensive view to help ensure that Canadian businesses are well equipped to mitigate risk, leaving them confident to not only navigate through new and emerging risk exposures, but also to thrive in a constantly evolving environment. This long-term thinking allows them to build strong products and services that will be valuable to their clients today and in the future.