Recognizing innovation, creativity, collaboration, and entrepreneurship
(Barrie, ON) – Nominations for the 7th annual Mayor’s Innovation Awards are now open. These awards celebrate the year’s most creative solutions from businesses, individuals, and community groups in the City of Barrie.
“The Mayor’s Innovation Awards are not just a celebration of what’s been achieved, they are an invitation to dream bigger,” shared Mayor Alex Nuttall. “Every nominee and winner remind us that innovation can come from anywhere and anyone. Whether it’s through technology, community leadership, or new business models, these innovators are setting powerful examples for the next generation of leaders in Barrie and beyond.”
Six award categories are returning for 2025:
- Pivot Point: A company or organization that has discovered and pursued opportunity to grow in unexpected directions when faced with market or operational challenges.
- Creative Collaboration: Two or more companies or organizations that have built an alliance and reached new heights or achievements that they could not have reached alone. Contributions may be across sectors, industries, geographies, products, services, or customer bases.
- Research & Innovation Contribution: This category recognizes industry and academic researchers, and entrepreneurs, whose innovative activities have had high impact on their individual business or sector, engaging knowledge users throughout the process.
- Youth Innovator: A youth under the age of 25, who is currently a full-time student or returning to school-full time in the next academic year, who has an entrepreneurial enterprise. A monetary award is available for the winner to put towards their business.
- Shift Disturber: An individual who has championed innovation in their organization or in Barrie’s community.
- Municipal Innovation: This award recognizes an individual, team, or department at the City of Barrie for their commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in public service. (note: public nominations are not accepted for this category; projects are brought forward through a separate submission process)
Nominations are open to Barrie businesses, organizations, groups, and individuals from all sectors, stages, and sizes (with the exception of the Municipal Innovation award). Nominations will be evaluated by an independent panel of judges from across the region and the province. Winners are announced in November.
In 2024, the Mayor’s Innovation Awards received over 60 nominations, with the following winners:
- Pivot Point: Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s Emergency Department
- Creative Collaboration: YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka and Georgian College's Department of Social Innovation
- Research & Innovation Contribution: Georgian College's Department of Research and Innovation and metricHEALTH Solutions Inc. (TIE)
- Youth Innovator: Cristhian Cruz - HeatPro
- Shift Disturber: Jesse Kerr - Sandbox Centre
- Municipal Innovation: In-Sourcing Property Maintenance – Corporate Facilities, City of Barrie
The deadline to submit a nomination for this year’s awards is June 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Visit investbarrie.ca/InnovationAwards to learn more and submit your nomination.