(New York City – November 18, 2025) The Intelligent Community Forum today announced the Full Certification of Kingston in Ontario, Canada as an Intelligent Community, effective November 1, 2025. Certification was issued based on an audit of the initiatives, programs and policies that make Kingston a highly desirable place to learn, live, work and set down roots in Canada.
Meeting ICF’s Certification standard provides objective validation that a community has high-quality connectivity, effective workforce development, a business innovation ecosystem and meaningful community engagement, digital inclusion and sustainability programs in place. These qualities combine to support the growth of innovative businesses, meet their talent needs and provide inclusive prosperity and a high quality of life.
Kingston is the fourth city in Canada to achieve Certification and the third to achieve Full Certification. It is a three-time Smart21 Community since first entering ICF’s Awards program in 2009 and has been named a Top7 Intelligent Community of 2025, its second year achieving this honor.
“Achieving Full Certification as an Intelligent Community is a tremendous honour for Kingston,” said Mayor Bryan Paterson. “This recognition affirms that our city is a place where innovation, collaboration and community engagement drive real progress. As one of only a few Canadian cities to earn this distinction, we’re proud to show that Kingston is competitive, connected and committed to inclusive prosperity and a high quality of life for all.”
"This is an important recognition that Kingston is a community where innovation thrives from collaboration," said Donna Gillespie, CEO of Kingston Economic Development Corporation. "We've created an ecosystem where businesses, government, and academia work in synergy so that companies, startups, entrepreneurs, and our talented workforce have everything they need to innovate globally while staying rooted locally. This certification provides objective, third-party validation that Kingston is investment-ready and offers the connectivity, talent, innovation support, and quality of life that growing companies need."
“Kingston has been on a decade-long Intelligent Community journey that has achieved remarkable results for a city of any size,” said ICF co-founder and auditor Robert Bell. “In just the past 6 years, the city has grown its labor force by 15%, its population and new jobs by 14% and seen a nearly 70% increase in manufacturing jobs. Long type-cast as a ‘government town,’ Kingston’s private-sector employment now exceeds that of the public sector. It is the result of a conscious, consistent, all-of-community effort – not just to attract employers – but to create a powerful ecosystem that attracts, retains and rewards innovators in many different fields.”
About Kingston
Kingston, Ontario has evolved from its historic role as Canada’s first capital and a key military post into a thriving hub of innovation, sustainability, and cultural vitality. Strategically located at the meeting point of major waterways and within reach of major cities, the city leverages its rich heritage, vibrant arts scene, and one of the nation’s most educated workforces to build a dynamic, future-ready economy. Home to Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College, and leading research institutions, Kingston fosters the commercialization of green technologies and life sciences while supporting a burgeoning startup ecosystem ranked Canada’s best among small cities. With investments in open-access broadband, cleantech, and cultural development through the Kingston Culture Plan, the city has also prioritized inclusivity, sustainability, and quality of life. Kingston’s Integrated Economic Development Strategy focuses on sustainable manufacturing, health innovation, and creative industries, transforming the city into a resilient, connected, and forward-thinking community.
Kingston stands out as a leader in civic engagement and cultural inclusivity as well. The city’s Get Involved Kingston platform engages over 18,000 residents in shaping policies, while Kingston INFocus provides citizens with transparent access to data on jobs, housing and the environment. Programs like the Workplace Inclusion Charter and NEST* support international students, relocating families and newcomers through the difficulties of moving and integration, making the city a magnet for global talent. Kingston has also focused on reconciliation initiatives such as Engage for Change and the Katarokwi Indigenous Art and Food Market to strengthen ties with Indigenous communities, while its UNESCO-recognized canal and a thriving downtown arts scene have led to its earning a reputation as one of Canada’s most livable and vibrant cities.
Learn more from the ICF profile of Kingston.
About Intelligent Community Certification
Intelligent Community Certification is an economic development credential based on ICF’s Community Accelerator Strategy and analytic methods developed over two decades of work with more than 200 communities around the world. The evaluation is based in part on written information submitted by the community on connectivity, workforce development, public and private-sector innovation, digital inclusion, public engagement and sustainability and resilience. To validate this information, ICF conducts a 2-day onsite audit that also explores how well the community integrates its programs in these areas to multiply their impact and increase their value. Following the audit, the auditor prepares a report detailing results and finalizes the scoring on which Certification is based. Once issued, the Certification remains effective for three years and must be renewed through updating of written information and another audit.
Intelligent Community Certification is based on a set of standards described in detail on the ICF website.
About the Intelligent Community Forum
Starting in 2000 with a research project comparing cities in various nations, the Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) created a unique, data-driven approach to development that puts citizens first while tapping the enormous economic and social potential of technology. In a world dominated by digital, ICF’s mission is to help communities create innovative, sustainable and growing economies, inclusive societies and affirming cultures open to the world. We do it for communities large and small – in urban clusters, outlying suburbs and rural places – through training, consulting, assessment, certification and award programs. ICF believes that digital connectivity and technology create the opportunity for almost every community to develop a dynamic local economy and the social and cultural strengths that go with it – giving them all a chance to be great places to live, work, learn, grow, raise a family and prepare a sustainable path for the next generation.
The Forum sponsors Institutes in North America and Taiwan dedicated to the study of the movement, and national organizations in Canada and Taiwan, both home to many Intelligent Communities. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work were recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was “aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs.”
For more details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s programs and publications, go to www.intelligentcommunity.org.
Contacts:
Matthew Owen, Executive Director
Intelligent Community Forum
[email protected]
Daniel Solorio, Marketing & Communications Manager
Kingston Economic Development
[email protected]
