Meet the Winners of the 2024 Innovation Awards

In the past year, businesses have had to navigate a landscape marked by whiplash-inducing technological advancements, undeniably urgent evidence of climate change and ever-shifting consumer values that increasingly prioritize social responsibility. The companies that simply keep up with digital transformation, sustainability best practices and workplace wellness trends can survive, but it takes a future-focused commitment to driving meaningful impact to truly thrive in 2024 and beyond.

Together with judges Krista Jones, interim CEO of MaRS Discovery District, and Takara Small, award-winning tech reporter and podcaster, Canadian Business selected 25 companies that exemplify resilience, adaptability and an unwavering dedication to bettering lives both within and beyond our borders. Meet the companies that are redefining what it means to be an innovator.

Illustration: Nada Hayek

Pontosense

Founded 2021

Headquarters Toronto

Founders Alex Qi, Yihong Qi and Muxin Ma

In 2017, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas’s annual gizmo circus, tech entrepreneur Alex Qi watched a presentation for a biometric monitoring device that was unlike the heart-rate-tracking smartwatches already common at the time. Two wireless routers captured the heartbeat of an audience participant without any physical contact, instead using the same radio waves that Wi-Fi utilizes. He remembers Yihong Qi, a BlackBerry alum who was also attending the event, turning to him with a revelation: You could get even more detailed data using higher-frequency millimetre waves, or mmWaves, through a singular but more efficient sensor.

In 2021, the pair, along with health-tech entrepreneur Muxin Ma, officially co-founded Pontosense, with the aim of using mmWave technology to analyze environments, recognize patterns and offer actionable insights in a variety of settings. The applications of this technology could save lives on numerous fronts, they thought, from health care to vehicular safety to home security.

The underlying science is deceptively simple. Pontosense’s proprietary four-square-centimetre sensor emits high-frequency electromagnetic waves into the air. After bouncing off objects, those mmWaves reflect back onto the sensor, identifying micro-movements as subtle as a heartbeat with medical-grade accuracy from up to 15 metres away. Qi likens it to a bat’s echolocation—except Pontosense takes it to the next level. Using artificial intelligence and proprietary machine-learning tools, the company’s software is able to quickly isolate and remove unwanted noise from data—like a car’s vibrations when trying to measure the driver’s heartbeat—solving an issue that plagued previous iterations of mmWave tech.

Imagine the safety and security enhancements possible with a Pontosense sensor incorporated into

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Halal mortgages in federal budget about ‘being equal’ for Muslims, providers say

Federal budget references to mortgage products aimed at Canadian Muslims have members of the community celebrating, along with the mortgage providers that look to serve them, despite a lack of detail from the government on what is to come.

In Tuesday’s budget documents, the federal government indicated that it’s “exploring new measures to expand access” to financing methods such as “halal mortgages.”

The budget provided few details about the plan, other than to say the government had been consulting “financial services providers and diverse communities” and that an update would come in the 2024 fall economic statement. Despite no specifics, it was a welcome addition to the budget for the Muslim community.

“It was very happy news for me,” said Abdullah Mohiuddin, who has already taken out an Islamic, or halal, mortgage to purchase a home in the Edmonton area. He said he welcomed the government’s announcement that it would be finding a way to increase access to a financial product he believes his community needs.

Several firms in various Canadian provinces offer halal mortgages. Halal is an Arabic word that translates in English to “permitted” or “allowed” under Islamic law.

These mortgages are deliberately structured to adhere to both Canadian law and the belief systems of many Muslims. Interest, which is referred to in many Islamic texts as “riba,” is forbidden.

Abdullah Mohiuddin took out a halal mortgage to buy his Edmonton-area home. He says he’s pleased Ottawa plans to find a way to increase access to the mortgages for the Muslim community. (Peter Evans/CBC)

Although interest isn’t charged, there are still costs associated with halal mortgages. In many cases, the costs are higher than those associated with conventional mortgages, and the mortgages are often not available at the branches of mainstream financial institutions.

“It seems like it’s a little bit expensive,” Mohiuddin said, adding he believes the lack of established legal definitions for a halal mortgage in Canada is behind the higher costs. 

Announcement boosts credibility

Muslims looking for a halal mortgage are still going to be paying carrying costs for a loan to purchase their home.

Providers in the industry said these costs can be higher because while there is demand, there are fewer providers — and some halal mortgage providers are unable to foreclose due to religious restrictions, which can increase what some financiers assess as risk.

That could be changing with the federal

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Three booming businesses that make Denver stand out

A concert venue built into a natural rock formation outside of Denver, CO

Amy Sparwasser | iStock Editorial | Getty Images

This story is part of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.

Two cities in Colorado are experiencing tech-fueled economic booms, with Denver’s skyline transforming and Boulder’s gross domestic product surging. This growth is driven by a mix of factors, including a strong military presence, leading universities, and a focus on high-tech industries such as aerospace and quantum tech, as reported in CNBC’s primetime special “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. EDT.

However, the influx of people and businesses has brought challenges like a growing homeless population, affordability issues and infrastructure strain. 

While the tech boom benefits both cities economically, Denver stands out because it continues to see growth in other areas: professional sports, a popular outdoor recreation venue, and a cannabis industry that is expected to see double-digit growth in the future.

Cannabis correction, not retreat

Marijuana plants at a grow facility in Denver.

Matthew Staver | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In the past decade, legal marijuana sales have added a staggering $15 billion to Colorado’s economy, with nearly $3 billion of that coming from taxes.

“Cannabis is a strong sector. [It represents] tens of thousands of jobs in Colorado — billions of dollars of economic activity,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told CNBC in a recent interview.

The city of Denver has benefited significantly, with marijuana sales surpassing $6 billion since 2014. According to data from the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, the city’s marijuana tax revenue collection crossed the half-billion mark last year, hitting $501.5 million in August 2023.

Despite being a national trailblazer since 2014 — when it was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana — the Centennial State’s cannabis industry has been experiencing a significant decline following the pandemic.

A recent report shows a 24% drop in Denver’s cannabis revenue compared with 2021. Despite this dip, Polis told CNBC that he remains optimistic about the future of marijuana.

Industry experts predict a return to growth. The governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting forecasts a 16% revenue increase for the state overall in 2024, highlighting the industry’s long-term potential.

“There is still healthy growth

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Car-free portion of 17th Avenue would be a no-go for many businesses

‘If we were to do something, would we trial it for one day? Would we trial it for a weekend? It would have to be a bit of a test’

Published Apr 07, 2024  •  Last updated 5 days ago  •  5 minute read

Pedestrians walk past rows of parked cars on 17th Avenue in Calgary on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Brent Calver/Postmedia

As snow melts and shovels are put away, many Calgarians will flock to patios and shops on 17th Avenue, while still being able to park — and drive — on the street.

Based on the results of a survey conducted last year and the amount of stakeholders within the 17th Ave. Business Improvement Area (BIA), it is unlikely Calgarians will see a “car-free zone” on 17th Avenue this summer, according to BIA executive director Tulene Steiestol.

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Company in Sydney Harbour launches new business marshalling offshore wind turbine parts

Provincial Energy Ventures, a privately owned coal pier in Sydney Harbour, is being renamed the Atlantic Canada Bulk Terminal and has begun offering services for marshalling huge steel parts for offshore wind turbines.

Richard Morykot, an engineer and vice-president of the bulk terminal, said the company will still deal in coal, but it is undergoing a major transition.

“I think it’s new energy for this region and there are spinoffs,” he said. “We just completed a lot of work and we are slowing down as of today, but there’s been a lot of different activity on the site for a lot of different companies, a lot of local companies.

“Sand bags, cranes, labour, civil construction companies, welders, riggers. There’s many parts to this and … when we build the business bigger, there’ll be more opportunities.”

The coal pier was built early in the last century with slag from the former Sydney steel plant, covering more than 40 hectares of land with a 500-metre-long wharf.

Morykot says the coal pier was built on the harbour with slag from the former Sydney steel plant, making it a solid site for the storage of large, heavy wind turbine components. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

Morykot said its construction makes it ideal for holding massive steel materials and the wharf has room for multiple ships to load or unload turbine parts.

Because of its history and construction, the company was able to get the site ready in a couple of weeks with very little investment, mostly by clearing and levelling the ground.

“We’re very fortunate,” Morykot said. “I mean, this was a steel facility and steel facilities are built, as you can imagine, to support steel, so they’re very robust and they’re strong and we’re benefiting from that.

“It’s a great, positive legacy of the Sydney steel plant.”

The 15 giant steel tubes now on the Sydney site are called monopiles. They are foundations that will be driven into the ocean bottom to anchor turbines at sea.

The monopiles, weighing hundreds of tonnes, are made of steel nearly 12 centimetres thick, are up to 10 metres in diameter and up to 80 metres long.

They are destined for offshore wind projects in the U.S., where the industry is well underway.

Several large grey-and-rust-coloured steel tubes lie on their sides dwarfing nearby buildings and a shipping container.
Giant grey-and-rust-coloured steel tubes stored in Sydney Harbour are slated to become the underseas foundations for offshore wind turbine projects in the U.S. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

There is

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