Almost two years ago, in August 2018, then Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos said, “Our Government recognizes the need for innovative solutions to address pressing social problems and help vulnerable Canadians.” He followed this up about a year ago in Montreal with, “By creating more opportunities and implementing innovative solutions to some of the most complex and persistent challenges faced by our communities, social purpose organizations will further strengthen our society and the well-being of all Canadians.”

One could say that the Trudeau government has had the strongest push to support the growth of Canadian social innovation in the past decade. 

They announced the launch of a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-creation Steering Group in 2017 to guide the development of a Canadian strategy. Composed of a group of extraordinary leaders from across the country from credit unions to philanthropic foundations, startups, social services, incubators, and academia, it even had the youngest co-chair for a federal strategy, likely as far as people in government can remember: Ajmal Sataar, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Small Economy Works, was in his 20s. 

The steering group delivered a set of 12 recommendations in a final report in 2018 entitled, Inclusive Innovation: New Ideas and New Partnerships for Stronger Communities. The report proposed ways that social innovation and social finance could be incorporated into a strategy to build more inclusive and prosperous communities, and in doing so, improve the lives of Canadians. 

Ok, we had momentum. 

Then the Trudeau government announced they were working toward creating a Social Finance Fund in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, and then followed that up in June 2019 with the launch of the Investment Readiness Program, a $50 million project meant to help social purpose organizations, especially startups become investment ready, in order to access the $755 million Social Finance Fund. A call for nominations for a Social Innovation Advisory Council to guide the implementation of the strategy was also opened up in 2019. These have all been crucial steps.  

Which is why during the federal government’s COVID-19 relief response, social purpose organizations, particularly social purpose startups across the country are perplexed as to why they are always among the last to receive support. 

What happened to Canada’s social innovation agenda?

I will say that the intentionality of opening up wage subsidies and the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan for social purpose organizations was important — and the Emergency Community Support Fund, which is set to deliver $350 million to organizations that support seniors, the homeless, and others made more vulnerable by the pandemic, is also critical. 

However, while the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is available to Canadian businesses and nonprofits that have experienced a 15 percent drop in revenues for the month of March and 30 percent for April, startups and high-growth enterprises didn’t fit the formula. 

So, the federal government announced $250 million in funding for the Industrial Research Assistance Program’s (IRAP) Innovation Assistance Program to assist Canadian startup enterprises, specifically meant for those that don’t qualify for CEWS.

The problem? Non-profit startups don’t qualify. 

Social purpose startups of all kinds have been frustrated and confused by the government’s blind spots, given it had championed a social innovation agenda for so long. 

Non-profit organizations — some of our most innovative brands — were startups once. Think CanadaHelps, Apathy Is Boring, Impact Hub Ottawa, Hacking Health, Canada Learning Code, Centre for Social Innovation, Equality Fund, Canadian Roots Exchange, Actua, Green Economy Canada, Fusion Jeunesse, and many, many more.

Today, these organizations are globally renowned for their social innovations and have enhanced our collective well-being in measurable and immeasurable ways.

With everything going on, it would be easy for non-profit startups to become a blind spot. But this would not bode well for advancing Canada’s social innovation agenda — and could set it back by decades. 

More importantly, at a time when innovation is vital for relief, recovery, and revitalization, non-profit startups are developing new solutions and leading the way. Every day that there is uncertainty around support, there could be layoffs in our most promising non-profit startups. 

Now’s the time to speed up Canada’s social innovation agenda. 

Vinod Rajasekaran

Publisher & CEO

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