To what degree does culture shape commerce? Does our national identity define us in the marketplace? Many people think so, to the degree that the typical Canadian entrepreneur is often typecast as being more timid and less prone to take risks than his or her counterpart in the United States. Although there are many elements of truth, this generalization begins to fall apart when we consider the depth, breadth and diversity of what it means to be Canadian. In other words, when it comes to business, a one-size-fits-all “Canadian approach” simply doesn’t exist.

Sometime this fall, a former Blackberry manufacturing plant turned light-infused office building will open its doors to companies in a Waterloo, Ontario area branded as the Idea Quarter, a mixed-use technology cluster near the University of Waterloo and the region’s light rail transit system.

When Spear Street Capital set out to revitalize that area, it set its sights on redeveloping the 215,000-square-foot building at 451 Phillip Street, a space that RIM had acquired in the late 1990s. There was an opportunity to rebirth a community and free up space for companies who could not previously find room in the neighbourhood.

Access Ventures' David Taliaferro saw how Kiva loan programs had helped grow Louisville's small businesses from the ground-up. So, the company went shopping to add another city to its repertoire.

Taliaferro, a Kiva Fellow and director of microfinance with Access Ventures, said the firm wanted to implement and support a Kiva program in a city with a growing business environment, something comparable to Louisville. About a year later, the firm will expand its Kiva footprint to Columbus, Ohio.

Fredericton Mayor Mike O’Brien is encouraging residents to draw on the walls on the new ‘Imagination Station’ located downtown- with chalk.

The new information hub officially launched Thursday, and allows residents a chance to share their feedback, ideas and concerns about the city. The initiative is part of the Imagine Fredericton community engagement process that will lead to the development of a new Growth Management Strategy and Municipal Plan.

DIAMOND BAR, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SolarMax LED, through its wholly owned subsidiary ActOne Communications, Inc., has landed a multi-million dollar California Department of Transportation contract to replace more than 29,000 aging street lights with the Southern California company’s leading-edge, high-efficiency LED luminaires. Initial work will focus on public roadways and arterials across Sacramento County.

Being called “one of the most important council decisions of this term,” Waterloo City Council is working to bring a Communitech Data Hub to the old Police Station on Erb Street in Uptown Waterloo.

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky tells 570 News that the Hub will help organize the terabytes of data that is being gathered on consumer spending and information.

Through concerted collaboration executed in a spirit of co-opetition, over the last three years 11 Canadian cities have executed seven joint Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) missions with the Federal government to 12 countries. These missions have resulted in 1,706 B2B meetings, 855 leads and 59 company visits. At an event last month hosted by the Toronto Region Board of Trade and attended by representatives of Chambers of Commerce and municipal economic development leaders from Canada's largest cities, attendees learned more about how to improve these numbers and accelerate leads to investment success.

4-day fest brings 3,000 investors and innovators together

Now in its sixth year, Startupfest is a smorgasbord of pitching competitions, keynote speakers, and networking.

Over four days starting Thursday, startup creators will have the opportunity to mingle with investors and entrepreneurs, pitching their ideas in hopes of catching the eye of a potential backer or winning one of the festival's many cash prizes.

Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa wishes more stations were in the country

Nineteen new electric vehicle charging stations will be built in Ottawa, but people who already drive the cars wish the province had scattered the locations.

The new Ottawa stations will be built at 10 different locations throughout the city, including one in the parking lot of IKEA, a Tim Hortons on River Road and a McDonald's on Bronson Avenue.

Brenda Halloran joins new appointees Tony Lacavera, Founder and Chairman of Globalive Holdings, and Intuit Canada President Jeff Cates

June 28, 2016 | Startup Canada

Startup Canada announced today it has appointed Brenda Halloran to chair its Board of Directors. Halloran is the former mayor of Waterloo, Ont. (2006-2014) and current President of the Trillium Innovation Venture Group.