Coming October 2021
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Coming October 2021

Canada’s Youth Innovation Challenge for 14-18 year olds

Ingenious+ gives you the chance to innovate – whether it’s a product, service, or process – and win cash prizes up to $10,000.

“Don’t underestimate the great talent and drive of young people; they can create real change.
That’s what innovation is – changing something to make it better. And the best innovations are more than just better. They’re good.”

The Right Honourable David Johnston
CC, CMM, CD, 28th Governor General of Canada and Chair of the Rideau Hall Foundation

Prize details

Eligibility and dates

Young people anywhere in Canada 14 to 18 years of age who are innovating to solve real-world problems. Contest opens October 2021 — Scroll down to sign up to receive more information.

Prizes

Regional cash prizes of $1,000 plus mentorship. National cash prizes plus mentorship from leading innovators: 1st place $10,000, 2nd place $7,500, 3rd place $5,000.

group of girls

Innovate
to make our world

Healthier Smarter Kinder

Notify me when submissions open

Terms and Conditions

Healthier

Canadians have already developed innovative ways for us to lead healthier, longer lives while also coming up with ingenious ways to protect our environment. We’re asking young Canadians to find new or improved ways of addressing the many challenges facing the health of our population and our planet. Every small change can make a difference.
Some ideas to get you thinking
  • What new ways can young people in my community encourage physical activity?
  • Are there new approaches to monitoring and encouraging responsible consumption and waste reduction?
  • Is there a medical issue that I can help solve?
  • Can I develop a solution to help with food insecurity?
Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Recognizing that not a single indigenous person worked in the healthcare field in Whitehorse, this team started to ask why? They set about a course of action to encourage more northerners to enter the healthcare sector: bringing students to summits profiling different career paths in health care, workshops with professionals and First Aid Certification opportunities.
Breanne Everett

Breanne Everett, Orpyx Medical

In her 20s, Breanne Everett co-founded Orpyx Medical to develop her idea for shoe insoles that prompts patients with diabetic foot conditions to move their feet to improve blood flow. This wearable tech has improved users’ quality of life and reduced health care costs by decreasing the risks of sores, infection and amputation.
Dave Brown

David Brown, Chinova Bioworks

While in his 20s, Co-founder of Chinova Bioworks, David Brown developed a unique and innovative mushroom-based fiber extract used for the shelf life extension of foods and beverages. This natural ingredient allows food and beverages to be protected from microorganisms including bacteria, yeast and mold and plays an important role in reducing food waste around the world.
Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp added components of literacy, nutrition and personal wellness, and leadership skills training to their hockey camps, as well as local employment for their community.
Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Recognizing that not a single indigenous person worked in the healthcare field in Whitehorse, this team started to ask why? They set about a course of action to encourage more northerners to enter the healthcare sector: bringing students to summits profiling different career paths in health care, workshops with professionals and First Aid Certification opportunities.
Breanne Everett

Breanne Everett, Orpyx Medical

In her 20s, Breanne Everett co-founded Orpyx Medical to develop her idea for shoe insoles that prompts patients with diabetic foot conditions to move their feet to improve blood flow. This wearable tech has improved users’ quality of life and reduced health care costs by decreasing the risks of sores, infection and amputation.
Dave Brown

David Brown, Chinova Bioworks

While in his 20s, Co-founder of Chinova Bioworks, David Brown developed a unique and innovative mushroom-based fiber extract used for the shelf life extension of foods and beverages. This natural ingredient allows food and beverages to be protected from microorganisms including bacteria, yeast and mold and plays an important role in reducing food waste around the world.
Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp added components of literacy, nutrition and personal wellness, and leadership skills training to their hockey camps, as well as local employment for their community.
Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Yukon Youth Healthcare Summit

Recognizing that not a single indigenous person worked in the healthcare field in Whitehorse, this team started to ask why? They set about a course of action to encourage more northerners to enter the healthcare sector: bringing students to summits profiling different career paths in health care, workshops with professionals and First Aid Certification opportunities.
Breanne Everett

Breanne Everett, Orpyx Medical

In her 20s, Breanne Everett co-founded Orpyx Medical to develop her idea for shoe insoles that prompts patients with diabetic foot conditions to move their feet to improve blood flow. This wearable tech has improved users’ quality of life and reduced health care costs by decreasing the risks of sores, infection and amputation.
Dave Brown

David Brown, Chinova Bioworks

While in his 20s, Co-founder of Chinova Bioworks, David Brown developed a unique and innovative mushroom-based fiber extract used for the shelf life extension of foods and beverages. This natural ingredient allows food and beverages to be protected from microorganisms including bacteria, yeast and mold and plays an important role in reducing food waste around the world.
Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp added components of literacy, nutrition and personal wellness, and leadership skills training to their hockey camps, as well as local employment for their community.

Smarter

Canadians have always been good at embracing change and adapting new ways of doing things. Invention breaks down silos, eliminates distance and helps connect people and places in new and exciting ways.
Some ideas to get you thinking
  • Is there old-school knowledge that can be repurposed to make a better world now?
  • How can we make living with a disability easier?
  • Is there a new way to promote gaining an education?
  • Do I have a great idea for improving my favourite sport?
Access Now

Access Now

Maayan Ziv of Access Now is creating a more accessible world for people living with disabilities. She created an app that uses crowdsourcing to collect and share information about the accessibility of places around the globe.
Joel Brennan sup stick

SUPStick

Joel Brennan grew up paddling and skateboarding in Canada’s Yukon Territory. As a teen, he was active in extreme sports, and went on to compete at the 2011 Whitewater Kayak Freestyle World Championships. Having tried different land paddles, Joel ended up with shoulder pain and believed he could engineer something better. Joel’s unique vision for creating the SUPStick, the ultimate land paddle, was born.
Treat Lab

TreatLab

Xavier Bulman is a young entrepreneur in New Brunswick who created his own business called TreatLab which delivers customized artisan ice cream and customizable lids designed by the customer. (www.instagram.com/treatlabca). 

Katherine

Katherine Homuth, Sheertex

Katherine Homuth was named one of Forbes Top 30 Under 30 and became a winner of the Governor General’s Innovation Award at the age of 30. She founded Sheertex, the innovative textiles manufacturing and e-commerce company behind the world’s first unbreakable pantyhose.
Access Now

Access Now

Maayan Ziv of Access Now is creating a more accessible world for people living with disabilities. She created an app that uses crowdsourcing to collect and share information about the accessibility of places around the globe.
Joel Brennan sup stick

SUPStick

Joel Brennan grew up paddling and skateboarding in Canada’s Yukon Territory. As a teen, he was active in extreme sports, and went on to compete at the 2011 Whitewater Kayak Freestyle World Championships. Having tried different land paddles, Joel ended up with shoulder pain and believed he could engineer something better. Joel’s unique vision for creating the SUPStick, the ultimate land paddle, was born.
Treat Lab

TreatLab

Xavier Bulman is a young entrepreneur in New Brunswick who created his own business called TreatLab which delivers customized artisan ice cream and customizable lids designed by the customer. (www.instagram.com/treatlabca). 

Katherine

Katherine Homuth, Sheertex

Katherine Homuth was named one of Forbes Top 30 Under 30 and became a winner of the Governor General’s Innovation Award at the age of 30. She founded Sheertex, the innovative textiles manufacturing and e-commerce company behind the world’s first unbreakable pantyhose.
Access Now

Access Now

Maayan Ziv of Access Now is creating a more accessible world for people living with disabilities. She created an app that uses crowdsourcing to collect and share information about the accessibility of places around the globe.
Joel Brennan sup stick

SUPStick

Joel Brennan grew up paddling and skateboarding in Canada’s Yukon Territory. As a teen, he was active in extreme sports, and went on to compete at the 2011 Whitewater Kayak Freestyle World Championships. Having tried different land paddles, Joel ended up with shoulder pain and believed he could engineer something better. Joel’s unique vision for creating the SUPStick, the ultimate land paddle, was born.
Treat Lab

TreatLab

Xavier Bulman is a young entrepreneur in New Brunswick who created his own business called TreatLab which delivers customized artisan ice cream and customizable lids designed by the customer. (www.instagram.com/treatlabca). 
Katherine

Katherine Homuth, Sheertex

Katherine Homuth was named one of Forbes Top 30 Under 30 and became a winner of the Governor General’s Innovation Award at the age of 30. She founded Sheertex, the innovative textiles manufacturing and e-commerce company behind the world’s first unbreakable pantyhose.

Kinder

Being fair matters to Canadians. They speak openly about their desire for a country that is both smart and caring. In the desire to find better ways of treating each other, we are looking to young Canadians to devise innovations that can make Canada, and the world, a kinder, more inclusive place.
Some ideas to get you thinking
  • What solutions can you think of to social or economic challenges in your community?
  • How can we help homeless people feel less lonely and safer?
  • Can we make everyone feel like they are part of the community?
  • Are there new ways to improve the lives of newcomers as they settle into our communities?
Dene Heroes Publication Project

Dene Heroes Publication Project

Indigenous stories and history are often lacking in school curriculums in the north. A team of Indigenous youth led the annual development and publishing of a collaborative book about local Dene heroes. The books inspired Indigenous students, community members, and out-of-school youth to research and write about someone they admired of Dene descent. The project improved literacy and leadership skills while also providing employment for young people.
Stackd

Stackd

Stackd offers a gaming player a matchmaking and events platform focused on creating safe and inclusive gaming experiences without the harassment and other toxic behaviour that sometimes happens online.
Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition is helping to foster stronger, healthier communities by preserving traditional Indigenous knowledge. A network of young people came together to launch skill development initiatives in their own community. The program pairs youth with elders, rangers, drummers and seamstresses so they can learn traditional skills, build connections between youth and elders, and strengthen the cultural identities of participants.
From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art helps young Northerners in Cambridge Bay forge intergenerational connections, develop practical and artistic sills, and confidently approach their futures with goals and a sense of identity.
Dene Heroes Publication Project

Dene Heroes Publication Project

Indigenous stories and history are often lacking in school curriculums in the north. A team of Indigenous youth led the annual development and publishing of a collaborative book about local Dene heroes. The books inspired Indigenous students, community members, and out-of-school youth to research and write about someone they admired of Dene descent. The project improved literacy and leadership skills while also providing employment for young people.
Stackd

Stackd

Stackd offers a gaming player a matchmaking and events platform focused on creating safe and inclusive gaming experiences without the harassment and other toxic behaviour that sometimes happens online.
Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition is helping to foster stronger, healthier communities by preserving traditional Indigenous knowledge. A network of young people came together to launch skill development initiatives in their own community. The program pairs youth with elders, rangers, drummers and seamstresses so they can learn traditional skills, build connections between youth and elders, and strengthen the cultural identities of participants.
From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art helps young Northerners in Cambridge Bay forge intergenerational connections, develop practical and artistic sills, and confidently approach their futures with goals and a sense of identity.
Dene Heroes Publication Project

Dene Heroes Publication Project

Indigenous stories and history are often lacking in school curriculums in the north. A team of Indigenous youth led the annual development and publishing of a collaborative book about local Dene heroes. The books inspired Indigenous students, community members, and out-of-school youth to research and write about someone they admired of Dene descent. The project improved literacy and leadership skills while also providing employment for young people.
Stackd

Stackd

Stackd offers a gaming player a matchmaking and events platform focused on creating safe and inclusive gaming experiences without the harassment and other toxic behaviour that sometimes happens online.
Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition

Trades of Tradition is helping to foster stronger, healthier communities by preserving traditional Indigenous knowledge. A network of young people came together to launch skill development initiatives in their own community. The program pairs youth with elders, rangers, drummers and seamstresses so they can learn traditional skills, build connections between youth and elders, and strengthen the cultural identities of participants.
From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art

From Scrap to Art helps young Northerners in Cambridge Bay forge intergenerational connections, develop practical and artistic sills, and confidently approach their futures with goals and a sense of identity.
youths
Are you ready to make your world healthier, smarter and kinder?

Coming October 2021

Notify me when submissions open

Terms and Conditions

With thanks to our Supporters

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Thanks to our partners

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Junior Achievement BC
Junior Achievement New Brunswick
Junior Achievement Southern Alberta
Junior Achievement Southwestern Ontario

About the Initiative

Powered by the Rideau Hall Foundation in partnership with JA Canada, ingenious+ is a national youth innovation prize with a strong regional and community focus. The goal is to give students aged 14 to 18 the opportunity to innovate for good, and to share their strategies to address problems at home, across Canada, and around the world.

Have any questions? Let us know!