Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2022

Taking your bold vision to its next extraordinary journey.

    Recognizing unstoppable entrepreneurs

    The 2022 program is underway! Please contact the program team for more information. 

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    Committed to supporting Canadian entrepreneurs for 28 years

    Download program brochure  |  Program contacts  |  FAQs

    About the program

    From creating disruptive technologies and transforming consumer journeys, to building new communities and driving positive social change, there’s no limit to the creativity of Canadian entrepreneurs — and the stories we want to share.

    The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program shines a spotlight on entrepreneurs across the country that are transforming our world through unbounded innovation, growth and prosperity – and that’s only the beginning of the journey. By joining the program, you’ll have the opportunity to celebrate success with your team, inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and gain access to an exclusive global network of program participants that help to build connections, fuel success and navigate long-term growth.

    If you or someone you know is turning ground-breaking ideas into innovative businesses, we want to help celebrate that success today.

    At EY, we support entrepreneurship for all — not just today, not just tomorrow, but for the next century and beyond.

    For 28 years, our Canadian program has:

    Received more than

    4,700

    nominations

    Celebrated nearly

    3,200

    finalists

    Honoured over

    1,400

    award recipients

    Meet Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 national award winners

    What makes a good nominee?

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      Eligibility Requirements

      • The nominee must be an owner or CEO of a private or public company, primarily responsible for the company’s recent performance and an active member of top management.
      • Non-founding entrepreneurs are also eligible if the individual manages the business and assumes the associated risks.
      • Co-nominees are eligible if they share leadership responsibilities at the company.
      • The nominee must have been in their current role for at least two years, dating back from the time of the April application deadline.
      • The nominee’s company must be at least three years old. However, for Emerging Entrepreneurs we accept nominees from companies aged two to five years.

      Key Considerations

      Growth

      • Are they growing or expanding offices, operations across provincial and global borders?
      • Have they undergone any recent mergers or acquisitions?
      • What actions do they take to create long-term value?

      Story

      • What makes them stand out?
      • Have they had an interesting journey to get to where they are today?
      • Have they won other awards? Have their accomplishments been recognized in the media?
      • Is the company led by a woman, Black, Indigenous, person of colour or 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneur?
      • Does the company foster an inclusive workforce/culture?

      Other Tips

      A strong and well-written nomination is powerful and compelling to the judges. Consider these important points when completing a nomination form.

      • It’s about you! Share your accomplishments as the founder/leader of the business, the success of the company as a whole and the team who has supported you in your journey. Bragging is encouraged. No need to be humble.
      • Understand how you will be evaluated. The judges will consider entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact. It’s a balanced scorecard.
      • Tell your story. Paint a picture of your history, entrepreneurial spirit and accomplishments. If you have a PR or marketing team, they can be highly valuable in this process.
      • Be concise and polished. Stay within the word count limit and make sure to proof your work.
      • Demonstrate results. Make sure your achievements are measurable. Quantify and expand on your growth in the storytelling portion with specific numbers, percentages and statistics.
      • Meet the nomination deadline. Careful planning and preparation will help you get your nomination in on time. Our online nomination form helps to make it faster and easier.

    Benefits of participation

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      Peer-to-peer learning opportunities – The chance to keep a pulse on the latest hot topics with peer-to-peer learning experiences, workshops, roundtable discussions and more.

      Connect with EY advisors - Connections with EY advisors through the EY 7 Drivers of Growth and EY Velocity to help your business broaden its focus to embrace value creation.

      Lifetime entrepreneur community access - Lifetime access to a community of like-minded business leaders who are each on their own transformational journey, including fellow entrepreneurs, program judges and sponsors, business leaders and EY personnel.

      Expand your network - The opportunity to expand your network and build relationships through invitations to exclusive entrepreneurially focused and broader EY-run events.

      Exclusive Invitation -  An exclusive invitation to the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, one of North America’s largest gatherings of entrepreneurs, investors, executives and business leaders.

    Program timeline

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      January 17 – Program launch

      April 15 – Nominations close

      April 18 - 22 – Judging phase one: finalists determined

      April 25 - May 27 – Finalist interviews with EY

      May - June – Regional finalist events

      June 20 - 24 – Meet the judges: interviews

      July – Regional winners announced

      September - December – Company Award Plaques distributed to regional winners

      September - October – Regional winner celebrations

      November – National awards celebration

      June 2023 – EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™

    Need more information? Visit our FAQs.


    Program contacts

    Select a region below to view contact information

    National sponsor

    TMX logo

    Sponsor benefits

    A unique year-round C-suite relationship development program:

    • Allows you to gain knowledge about an entrepreneur’s business 
    • Furthers relationships with your targets and clients
    • Extends relationships into the C-suite
    • Garners media and press coverage of the event
    • Promotes your brand and competitive positioning in high-growth entrepreneurial markets
    • Assists entrepreneurs with raising their profile and company profiles
    • Provides access to a robust, influential entrepreneurial ecosystem
    • Brand exposure to a broadened audience through virtual EY Canada Awards show
    • Access and invites to other EY exclusive events
    To become a sponsor, please contact Melissa Harder.

     

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