Government of Canada launches the Smart Cities Challenge

Calgary — On Nov. 17, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, launched the Smart Cities Challenge, fulfilling a commitment made in Budget 2017. The Challenge will give communities a platform for implementing bold ideas to address priorities that they identify.

“This challenge—the first of its kind in Canada—will encourage communities to innovate and take risks to improve people’s lives. Across the country, communities large and small are bursting with new ideas. The Smart Cities Challenge will help bring them to life, and find solutions that achieve real and positive outcomes for Canada’s middle class,” said Sohi.

Communities of all sizes from across Canada can apply—including municipalities, local or regional governments, and Indigenous communities. They will be encouraged to work with the private and not-for-profit sectors and the research community to achieve results that improve the lives of residents. It will be up to communities to set their goals and the pathways to achieving them.

With the launch, communities can begin developing their proposals. Detailed application guidelines are now available on the new Impact Canada Challenge Platform.

Communities will have until April 24, 2018 to submit their applications. Those that are selected as finalists by the independent jury for the Smart Cities Challenge will receive a grant of $250,000 to support the development of their detailed proposal and business case. Winners will receive funding to implement their proposals.

Infrastructure Canada is engaging Indigenous leaders, communities and organizations to finalize the design of a competition specific to Indigenous communities that will reflect their unique realities and issues. Indigenous communities are also eligible to compete for all the prizes in the current competition.

The Smart Cities Challenge is part of the Government of Canada’s Impact Canada Initiative, which aims to accelerate and mainstream innovative programs that focus on the achievement of outcomes that address complex economic, environmental and social problems.