Canada Smart Cities Challenge Announces 20 Finalists

The 20 finalists for the Canada Smart Cities Challenge were recently announced at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ annual conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia:

  • Akwesasne/Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Ontario and Quebec (Mohawk Nation)
  • Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Ontario
  • Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
  • Cree Nation of Eastmain, Quebec
  • Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
  • Airdrie, Alberta
  • Cote Saint-Luc, Quebec
  • Saint Mary’s First Nation, New Brunswick
  • Guelph and Wellington Counties, Ontario
  • Nunavut Association of Municipalities, Nunavut
  • Parkland County, Alberta
  • Richmond, British Columbia
  • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • The Pas, Manitoba
  • Greater Victoria, British Columbia
  • Edmonton. Alberta
  • Montreal, Quebec
  • Quebec City, Quebec
  • Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia
  • Waterloo, Ontario

The finalists will be competing for the grand prize of $50 million CAD ($38.5 million USD), two prizes of $10 million CAD ($7.7 million USD) for those with populations of up to 500,000 people, and one $5 million CAD ($3.8 million USD) for those with populations of up to 30,000. Summaries of the finalists’ applications, along with their Challenge Statements and the evaluation criteria are posted on the Impact Canada website.

“I am proud to see all the effort that communities have put into engaging with residents and in developing their Smart Cities Challenge proposals. I challenged community leaders to be bold and think outside-the-box, and I am pleased to see that they answered the call through the innovative ideas they submitted. These new ideas will result in positive outcomes for Canada’s middle class and improve people’s quality of life. I am thrilled at the meaningful, lasting and positive outcomes that this Challenge has already created for communities thus far, and look forward to seeing the final proposals,” said The Honorable Amarjeet Sohi, minister of infrastructure and communities.