Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Meet the winners | Download program brochure | Program contacts | FAQs

About the program

For more than three decades, we have highlighted the achievements of countless visionary Canadian entrepreneurs who are redefining possibilities for Canada and the world. And this is just the beginning.

By participating in the program, you’ll have the opportunity to celebrate your team’s successes, inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, and connect with an exclusive global network of program participants that fosters relationships, drives success and supports long-term growth.

If you or someone you know is transforming groundbreaking ideas into innovative businesses, we want to celebrate that success today.

At EY, we champion entrepreneurship for everyone—not just for today or tomorrow, but for the next century and beyond.

Here's to the next 30 years of Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program.

We’re looking forward to the regional celebrations this fall, and we hope you’ll join us. We’ll provide details on the formal registration process soon. For more information, contact your regional program leader.

Eastern – October 13, 2026 – Théâtre St-James, Montréal
Ontario – October 15, 2026 – Fairmont Royal York, Toronto
Prairies – October 14, 2026 – BMO Centre, Calgary
Pacific – October 23, 2026 – JW Marriott Parq, Vancouver
National - November 24, 2026 — The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto

Congratulations to the EY Entrepreneur Of The year 2026 finalists

Meet the EOY 2026 finalists

TEST

Select a region below to view the finalists

Regional finalists 2026

Pacific

Prairies

Ontario

Eastern

For 30 years, our Canadian program has:

Received more than

5,200

nominations

Celebrated more than

3,400

finalists

Honoured more than

1,540

award recipients

Download program brochure

What makes a good nominee?

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® recognizes innovative entrepreneurial achievement among individuals and companies that demonstrate vision, leadership and success. See what it takes to submit a good nomination.

The 2026 program dates are:

February 2: Applications open
April 2: Applications close
April: Judging phase 1 – Regional finalists selected from nominee pool
April-May: Regional finalist interviews with EY
June: Regional finalist celebrations
June: Judging phase 2 – Regional finalists meet the judges at virtual panel interviews
October: Regional award shows
October: National judging
November: Strategic Growth Forum®
November: National awards show
May 2027: EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year
Built over decades, our communities, alliances and relationships support your growth.

The nominee must be an owner or CEO of a private or public company, and responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business. Co-founders are eligible if they share leadership responsibilities at the company.
Non-founding entrepreneurs are only eligible if the individual manages the business and assumes the associated risks.
The nominee must have been in their current leadership role for at least two years, by the application deadline.
The nominee’s company must be at least three years old.
The nominee’s headquarters must be in the region where the nomination is submitted.
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 the entrepreneur's story unique? Have they had an interesting journey to get to where they are today?
Have they won other awards or 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?
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 the entrepreneur! Share their accomplishments as the founder/leader of the business, the success of the company as a whole and the team who has supported the journey. Bragging is encouraged. No need to be humble.
Understand how the entrepreneur will be evaluated. The judges will consider entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact. It’s a balanced scorecard.
Tell the entrepreneur story. Paint a picture of their history, entrepreneurial spirit and accomplishments.
Be concise and polished. Stay within the word count limit and make sure to proof your work.
Demonstrate results. Make sure all achievements are measurable. Quantify and expand on the 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.

Benefits of participation

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.

Need more information? Visit our FAQs.

Program contacts

Select a region below to view contact information

Canada

Daniel Baer, National Program Director
Julie Olden, National Program Manager

Pacific

Louisa Lun, Program Director
Carla Marchant, Program Director
Natalie Niedzialek, Program Manager

Prairies

Ivana Cvitanusic, Program Director
Rob Jolley, Program Director
Meghan Zadravec, Program Manager

Ontario

Brittany Keenan, Program Director
Zachary Pendley, Program Director
Ayesha Hasan, Program Manager

Eastern

Audrey Gibeault, Program Director
Walid Safi, Program Director
Maude Gendron, Program Manager

National sponsors

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

Learn more

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The team

Daniel Baer

Assurance Services, EY Canada Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director

Champion of entrepreneurship for all. Values diverse perspectives and collaborative approaches.

Montréal, Canada

Stasia Mitchell

EY Global Entrepreneurship Leader

Envisioning equitable entrepreneurship by embracing diversity. Fostering a global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Striving to build a world that works better for all.

San Diego, CA, United States

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.