Infrastructure Canada

Smart Cities Challenge

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The winner has been announced!

Transcript

Canada's Smart Cities Challenge

The Smart Cities Challenge called on communities across Canada to come up with solutions to their most pressing issues.

Using data and connected technology with inspiring and scalable innovations that are available to everyone.

Communities told us what matters:

  • Mobility
  • Health
  • Safety
  • Housing
  • Well-being

Canada's unique approach:

  • Resident-driven ideas
  • Inclusive of all communities
  • Widely shared solutions

Winners announced in May 2019.

Prizes totaling $75M.

Follow their journey!

#smartcitiesCanada

Communities lead the way

The Smart Cities Challenge is a competition open to all municipalities, local or regional governments, and Indigenous communities (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) across Canada.

This Challenge will empower communities across the country to address local issues their residents face through new partnerships, using a smart cities approach.

A smart cities approach means achieving meaningful outcomes for residents through the use of data and connected technology. This approach can be adopted by any community, big or small.

Finalists will receive support to develop their smart cities proposals. Winning communities will be awarded with prize money to help implement them.

Through the Smart Cities Challenge, we hope to:

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Realize outcomes for residents

Because the Smart Cities Challenge is all about achieving outcomes, it will be vital for communities to measure where they are starting from, when they are making progress, and when they have achieved success. Establishing a baseline and measuring results will be central to doing this.
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Empower communities to innovate

Communities should take risks and think big, identify significant, pressing, and perceived “un-solvable” problems, and achieve outcomes through data and connected technology.
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Forge new partnerships and networks

Communities will need to undertake meaningful engagement with residents and forge relationships with new and non-traditional partners.
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Spread the benefit to all Canadians

Smart cities approaches should not only benefit a single community; they should be scalable and replicable across Canada.

The Challenge Statement

To begin, each community will define its Challenge Statement.

The Challenge Statement is a single sentence that defines the outcome or outcomes a community aims to achieve by implementing its smart cities proposal. The Challenge Statement must be measurable, ambitious, and achievable through the proposed use of data and connected technology. Below, for illustrative purposes only, are examples of Challenge Statements. Please refer to the Applicant Guide for further details on these Statements which include ideas on the kinds of smart cities activities or projects that could address them and indicators on how progress might be measured.

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Feel safe and secure

The neighbourhood in our community with the highest crime rate will become safer than the national average.

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Earn a good living

After years of decline, our community will transform a former industrial neighbourhood into one of the top locations in Canada for economic growth.

children learning how to bike

Move around my community

Our community will ensure that every senior who is able to live independently at home is empowered to do so.

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Enjoy a healthy environment

Our community will implement preventative measures to reduce flood damage risk by 40 percent and provide every resident of at-risk areas with access to these measures.

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Be empowered and included in society

Our community will ensure that every person without a home has access to nightly shelter, and will connect 100 percent of vulnerable residents with the services, activities and programs that are known to reduce the risk of homelessness.

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Live an active and healthy life

Our community will become 50 percent more active and healthy, and achieve a measurable decrease in chronic disease.

Challenge details

Who can apply?

  • Municipalities, local or regional governments
  • Indigenous communities
  • Groups of organisations above

Key dates

  • Application deadline: April 24, 2018
  • Announcement of finalists: Summer 2018
  • Announcement of winners: Spring 2019

Prizes

  • One prize of up to $50 million
  • Two prizes of up to $10 million each
  • One prize of up to $5 million