Announcing The 2021 CANIE Awards semi-finalists

Ottawa, ON: The finalists for The 2021 CANIE Awards have been selected.

Meet 35 impressive Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses making an impact.

Celebrating business leaders across Canada for their excellence and achievement in entrepreneurship, these individuals and companies inspire us.

Especially after a year like 2020, we recognize that small businesses are a lifeblood in our community. It is so important to highlight the tenacity and talent of Canadian business leaders for their vision and resilience.

“There were more than 420 submissions for the 2021 CANIE Awards and each application we reviewed was a testament to the sheer amount of innovation and excellence in Canadian entrepreneurship,” said Kayla Isabelle, Board Chair of the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation. “More than ever, it is important to recognize the crucial role that this ecosystem plays in Canada’s economy.

“We decided to celebrate The 2021 CANIE Awards with a true entrepreneurial spirit by highlighting the 35 unique semifinalist stories through a video campaign series. We’re excited to showcase each entrepreneur with the support of partners like UPS Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Scotiabank and the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA).”

Individual finalist profile videos will roll out starting June, 2021. Follow @IEF_FIE to stay up-to-date on the 2021 #CANIEAwards and learn more about the Awards at canies.ca

Meet the 2021 finalists:

NACCA’s Indigenous Entrepreneur Award

• Joel Heath, arcticeider.com (NU)
• Carol Anne Hilton, indigenomicsinstitute.com (BC)
• Joella Hogan, yukonsoaps.com (YK)
• Patrick Hunter, patrickhunter.ca (ON)
• Shannon Loutitt, iisb.ca (SK)

Black Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• Simi Olatunji, @youthforwardto (ON)
• Chúk Odenigbo, futureancestors.ca (AB)
• Evelyne Nyairo, elliebianca.com (AB)
• Vanessa Fajemisin, solidstate.coop (BC)
• Dr. Liza Egbogah, drLizashoes.com (ON)

Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• Roxanne Whiting, sliao.ca (ON)
• Chef Charlotte Langley, chefcharlottelangley.com (PEI)
• Andrea Mulligan, sleepinggiantbrewing.ca (ON)
• Clare Hodgetts, infocuscanada.ca (BC)
• Jennifer Denouden, avanarentals.com (SK)

Youth Impact Award

• Kehkashan Basu, greenhopefoundation.com (ON)
• Cheyenne Sundance, sundanceharvestfarm.com (ON)
• Anjali Dhaliwal, @youthelpingyouth (BC)
• Si Zhe Chen, amplelabs.co (ON)
• Warren Dietrich, earthlii.com (NS)

UPS Canada Product Innovation Award

• RainStick Shower, rainstickshower.com (ON)
• Sollum Technologies, sollumtechnologies.com (QC)
• A Friendlier Company, afriendliercompany.ca (ON)
• Spot App, spotapp.co (ON)
• PROOF, proofgov.com (YK)

UPS Canada Global Impact Award

• Lucky Iron Fish, luckyironfish.com (ON)
• Xpertsea, xpertsea.com (QC)
• Dymedso, dymedso.com (QC)
• VitroTechnology, virtro.ca (BC)
• 7D Surgical, 7dsurgical.com (ON)

Scotiabank Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• Ashwin Kutty, weusthem.com (NS)
• Teara Fraser, iskwew.ca (BC)
• Jordan Boesch, 7shifts.com (SK)
• Kelly Bron Johnson, compinclus.ca (QC)
• Erin Bury, willful.co (ON)

About The CANIE Awards: Celebrating Innovators and Entrepreneurs with seven Award Categories across Canada with up to $10,000 prizes. #CANIEAward

FOR MEDIA REQUESTS, CONTACT:

awards@ief-fie.ca