Official Google Canada Blog

Supporting communities across Canada in 2021

Thursday, January 27, 2022

In 2021, our Canadian sites donated over $750,000 in Community Grants to 30 organizations across the country that are helping make their community a better place.

Learn more about the organizations we supported last year:

Afghan Women's Organization Refugee and Immigrant Services

Toronto, ON

Afghan Women’s Organization Refugee and Immigrant services (AWO) offers settlement services to newcomers and refugees in the Greater Toronto Area, with a special focus on women, their families, refugees and people who have experienced war and persecution.

BGC Ottawa

Ottawa, ON

The Boys & Girls Club of Canada provides safe, supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life.

Black Boys Code Canada

National

Black Boys Code supports underserved black communities by providing basic digital literacy training and an educational pathway to a career in technology.

Classroom Champions

National

Classroom Champions brings together athletes and teachers to facilitate curriculum and mentorship programs for kids that are social emotional learning (SEL) focused, founded by Olympic Gold Medalist, Steve Mesler, and Ph.D. educator, Dr. Leigh Parise.

Daily Bread

Toronto, ON

Daily Bread is a food bank that works with different agencies to offer a range of food programs, in their mission to fight poverty and end hunger in Toronto.

École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)

Montreal, QC The École de technologie supérieure (ETS) - part of the Université du Québec network - specializes in training future engineers and researchers to meet the needs of the industrial environment.

Food4Kids

Waterloo, ON Food4Kids works to provide packaged healthy bags of food for kids aged 1-14 that experience chronic hunger.

Fora

Toronto, ON Fora (previously G(irls)20) works to place young women at the centre of the decision-making process through education and training, building networks and access to unparalleled opportunities. They offer three signature programs - Global Summit, Girls on Boards and Next Level - that focus on leadership development.

Hackergal

Toronto, ON

Hackergal offers programs that teach girls how to code and learn to apply their coding skills on different levels. Canadian girls in grades 6-9 are invited to test their skills and participate in Hackergal’s Hackathon competitions.

hErVolution

Toronto, ON

hErVolution creates opportunities for the next generation of women in STEM by connecting them with leaders in the industry for career support.

Indige-Spheres

Thunder Bay, ON

Indige-Spheres supports the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples by empowering Indigenous youth via initiatives including arts and crafts, awareness campaigns and other activities designed to foster community relations.

Indspire

Six Nations of the Grand River, ON

Indspire invests in the education and long-term development of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada with a vision to enrich Canada through Indigenous education and inspiring achievement.

Kids Code Jeunesse

Montreal, QC

Kids Code Jeunesse encourages the next generation to code, create and communicate, with a goal to help educate Canadian children on digital skills, like block-based coding and computational thinking.

Kind Republic (IMDOINGIT)

Toronto, ON

Kind Republic (IMDOINGIT) supports underserved black communities to achieve growth by creating safe spaces and opportunities for black youth.

KW Counseling Services

Kitchener, ON

KW Counselling Services is a multi-service agency offering several types of support for community members, including individual, couples and family counselling.

Lifelong Leadership Institute

Toronto, ON

The Lifelong Leadership Institute supports Canadian youth of Jamaican, Caribbean and Black heritage in developing leadership competence and achieving personal success.

Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization

Ottawa, ON

The Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) helps new immigrants settle into Canada by providing multi-faceted programs and services through various partnerships, aimed at creating a healthy and inclusive space for newcomers.

OSMO Foundation

Montreal, QC

The OSMO Foundation supports the development and international growth of Montreal’s startup ecosystem by encouraging collaboration as well as knowledge transfer and know-how between different community actors.

Parents Engaged in Education

Scarborough, ON

Parents Engaged in Education offers training and events to encourage parental involvement in their children’s educational journey while giving parent council members the resources to better partner with school administrators.

Pathways/Carizon

Kitchener, ON

Carizon focuses on supporting families by strengthening their mental health and wellbeing by offering services in more than 70 locations that specialize in areas like children’s mental health, youth development and family counselling among others.

SHAD

Waterloo, ON

SHAD is a month-long STEAM and entrepreneurship focused program empowering grades 10 and 11 students across Canada. It is held in the summer across 19 Canadian university campuses.

TechSpark

Toronto, ON

TechSpark is Canada’s first tech and design school that offers culturally relevant and responsive education to children of colour, girls, women and teachers. Their services include specially designed curriculums and workshops for both teachers and students.

Technovation

Montreal, QC

Technovation offers programs that empower young women, aged 8–18 , to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. The company was created in Silicon Valley in 2009 and established a presence in Montreal in 2014.

The Healing of the Seven Generations

Kitchener, ON

The Healing of the Seven Generations provides support for Indigenous people by helping them address the intergenerational effects of Canada’s residential school system by developing self-help approaches, therapeutic healing programs and community training sessions.

The Neighbourhood Organization

Toronto, ON

The Neighborhood Organization (TNO) is a multicultural social services organization that offers a range of community-based services to residents of Thorncliffe Park and surrounding communities.

Tree of Young Leaders/Hestia Academy

Montreal, QC

Hestia Academy is an online academy that enables young people to take control of their education in an online environment that fosters community engagement.

United Way of Greater Toronto

Toronto, ON

United Way of Greater Toronto provides support and safety for underserved communities facing significant barriers to bettering their circumstances in the GTA by prioritizing collaborations with local residents and partners to support BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ communities and people living with disabilities.

UpstartED

Montreal, QC

UpStartED provides youth aged 12-18 with equitable access to educational experiences by supporting them in making positive impacts on their communities via social innovation through programs that enable them to tackle complex, real-world challenges.

WeMatter

National

We Matter provides safe spaces for Indigenous youth to connect, learn and implement youth led initiatives that help amplify Indigenous voices.

Alongside businesses, local organizations and nonprofits, we look forward to continuing to help our communities into 2022 and beyond.

Posted by Canada's Leadership Team

Applications are now open for the second Google Cloud Accelerator Canada Cohort

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

We’re inviting Canadian cloud-native technology startups to apply for the second Google Cloud Accelerator Canada cohort. The intensive 10-week virtual bootcamp helps startups prepare for the next phase of growth and development in their journey.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen just how important the role of cloud technology is in almost every sector. From healthcare to education, retail to manufacturing, cloud technology keeps us connected, and helps us maintain continuity in our schools, work and businesses.

We know the need for cloud-based solutions will continue to grow, that’s why we launched the first Google Cloud Accelerator Canada last year, entirely dedicated to supporting cloud-native technology startups. The accelerator was the first of it’s kind at Google, designed to bring the best of our programs, products, people and technology to startups doing interesting work in cloud.

“We are thrilled to be at the start of our second journey in meeting and building meaningful relationships with this new Google Canada Accelerator Cloud cohort,” said James Lambe, Managing Director of Google Cloud Canada.

Last year, twelve startups were selected for our inaugural cohort, representing a range of industries including healthcare, hospitality and real estate. We worked with founders and their teams to help solve some of the top challenges facing their startup and provided 1:1 mentorship from an array of Google Cloud experts. We also offered support in AI/ML, design/UX, Android, web, product strategy, sales, marketing, and more.

Today, we’re excited to announce that applications are now open for the second Google Cloud Accelerator Canada. The 10-week virtual accelerator will offer cloud mentorship and technical project support, as well as deep dives and workshops on product design, customer acquisition and leadership development for cloud startup founders and leaders.

The Accelerator is best suited for funded, revenue generating startups who have a minimum of five employees and are well-positioned for their next phase of growth. In order to ensure Google can provide meaningful value, startups should aim to leverage either Cloud or AI/ML technologies in their product, service, or operations, or show an interest in leveraging these technologies in the future.

Applications are now open until March 1, 2022 and the accelerator will kick off this April. Interested startups leveraging cloud to drive growth and innovation are encouraged to apply here.

Posted by Ashley Francisco Head of Startup Developer Ecosystem, Google Canada

Speaking our language: The importance of a Mandarin Pixel 6 ad with Simu Liu

Friday, January 21, 2022

Language is one of the most universal experiences we share— but, sometimes it becomes a frustrating barrier. With the help of technology, people should be able to overcome language barriers and connect with the world around them in new and meaningful ways. That was what we set out to do in our latest Google Pixel 6 ad campaign with a little help from our friend and Canadian Pixel Ambassador Simu Liu. Beginning January 24th, you’ll see a brand new 30-second ad spot centred around the Pixel 6 - and it will be delivered entirely in Mandarin. Simu, who speaks fluent Mandarin, used his talents to show off what’s possible with one of the phone’s most helpful features, Live Translate.
“In my conversations with the Google team, they really encouraged me to spearhead the creative thinking and direction in how we would introduce the Pixel 6 to Canadians,” says Liu. “I was able to involve my parents in the commercial to highlight the Live Translate function, which allows you to translate between over 46 different languages. I think it’s a great tool for immigrant families to communicate with people.”
The new video, which Simu recently shared on Instagram, demonstrates the capabilities and powerful potential of Interpreter Mode in Live Translate. Simu’s unparalleled charm and personality shine through as he tries to live up to his parents’ expectations, and soon everyone is using Live Translate to get their message across. Mandarin is the third-most spoken language Canadians use in their homes, right behind English and French. By producing an ad spoken almost entirely in Mandarin, we hope Canadians will try to unlock communication simply using their phones.
“Simu has been an engaged partner throughout this process. In continuing this relationship, we wanted him to inject his personality and heritage into the project in an authentic way, “ says Andrew Rapsey, Head of Product Marketing and Brand Partnerships with Google Canada. “We want to continue to demonstrate how Pixel features like Live Translate can help connect Canadians in ways they never thought were possible. Why not double down on that commitment with a national commercial shot entirely in Mandarin?”
Interpreter Mode on Pixel 6 provides smart, simple translation of in-person conversations directly on the device. By simply prompting Google Assistant and asking it to “Be My Interpreter”, the Pixel 6 will take turns translating what is said based on the languages that are selected. This is just one of the many Live Translate features included on Pixel, which features best-in-class speed and accuracy thanks to the strides we continue to make in machine learning and the Google Tensor chip.
Live Translate also automatically detects if a message in your chat apps is different from your system language, and offers the option to automatically translate, all right on the device. Live Caption Translate takes speech to text and uses our dedicated translation model to convert that text into select languages. Users can also use Google Lens to detect and translate text on signs or menus. Whether you’re having a full conversation with a relative in their native language, or interpreting the menu at a new restaurant, Live Translate on Pixel 6 makes the process seamless.
The new Mandarin ad campaign starring Simu will go live on January 24th. Canadians can expect to see the ads on select English-language broadcast and digital outlets, and will air alongside our recently-announced French-language ad with Canadian Tennis Star Leylah Fernandez. The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are now available on the Google Store.

Canadian Tennis Star Leylah Fernandez joins #TeamPixel

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

U.S. Open finalist will be the face of Pixel 6 for French-speaking Canada

Google Canada is thrilled to announce that Canadian Tennis player and Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez has been named the latest Canadian ambassador for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Fernandez, currently the top-ranked Canadian in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), rose to international recognition after appearing in the final of the 2021 U.S. Open. This led her to being our top-trending Canadian athlete in the country last year. Now the Montreal native will be featured in a new national English and French-speaking ad campaign, which she unveiled on her Instagram account today. The ad features Fernandez utilizing the capabilities of the Pixel’s Live Translate feature, a perfect fit for the WTA pro, who is already fluent in English, French and Spanish. In addition to the ad campaign, Leylah will also be sharing her journey with her Pixel 6 on her social media channels.
“I travel a lot throughout the season, so I need a phone that’s going to help me manage my busy schedule and have fun at the same time.” says Fernandez. “After using the Pixel 6 Pro for a couple months, I’m thrilled about how easily it fits into my lifestyle and I can’t wait to show other Canadians what it can do.”
After making her professional debut in 2019, Fernandez had her breakout year in 2021, with her first tour win at the Monterrey Open and her aforementioned appearance in the U.S. Open. Just weeks ago, she was named the Canadian Press’ Female Athlete of the Year. Days away from competing in this year’s Australian Open, Fernandez will be able to document her season with the Pixel 6 Pro, taking advantage of our most ‘Google’ phone yet, both inside and out.
“After her incredible year on the women’s tennis circuit, and how she won the hearts of the Canadians with her grit and grace, it was an easy decision to partner Leylah as a spokesperson for the Pixel 6,” says Laura Pearce, Head of Marketing, Google Canada. "The Pixel provides all the helpfulness of Google for consumers to see, experience and do more - and that's exactly what we expect Leylah to do as she takes the tennis world by storm.”
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro feature Google’s first System on a Chip (SoC), Google Tensor, which unlocks the full potential of the phone’s camera system, Android user interface and AI that Google is known for. Google Tensor allows the Pixel 6 to adapt to each individual user to provide a bespoke experience that, at its heart, performs fast and reliably in everyday use. Featuring a best-in-class camera with new experiences like low-light video and Magic Eraser, Pixel 6 allows users to share special moments exactly how they remember them. Inclusive features like Live Translate combine Pixel’s speech recognition with Google’s translation capabilities to help users to communicate in languages other than their own across a number of applications1.
Leylah Fernandez’ English Pixel 6 ad spot is now live online with the French version of the ad spot going live when the Australian Open gets underway on January 17. The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are now available on the Google Store.

Posted by Google Canada

Our third GNI Startups Boot Camp will support 16 Canadian news entrepreneurs

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Editor's Note: This blogpost is cross posted from the Lion Publisher's website.These aspiring journalism publishers will serve communities from Nova Scotia to Vancouver

From upper left: Shauna Rae, Jordan Maxwell, Ashleigh-Rae Thomas, Flavian DeLima, Yona Harvey, Camila Castaneda, Charles Mandel, Ayesha Ghaffar, Seyedmostafa Raziei, Sandra Hannebohm, Cara Fox and Kelly-Anne Riess
For the past two years, our GNI Startups Boot Camp has helped nearly 50 founders launch independent new businesses across the U.S. and Canada. But as we supported those aspiring entrepreneurs to validate and execute their ideas, we kept coming back to one question: the Canadian news landscape has some of its own unique challenges and opportunities. Why not create a program specifically to serve this burgeoning ecosystem?

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce, in partnership with the Google News Initiative, the inaugural cohort for our GNI Startups Boot Camp Canada.

These 16 startups will embark on an intensive eight-week program that includes the training and coaching that will help them launch sustainably and meet their communities’ information needs.

“We’re looking forward to working with this passionate, diverse and all-Canadian cohort of emerging news entrepreneurs, and supporting them on their path to launching an independent news business,” said Andrew Wicken, Head of News Partnerships at Google Canada. “The curriculum has been adapted specifically to address the realities of operating in Canada and supports our mission of helping to build a thriving, diverse and innovative Canadian news ecosystem. We’ve seen how this program can accelerate their progress, build connections and community, and set them on a path to sustainability.”

The cohort members were selected by an independent panel of judges based on their compelling ideas, potential to make a strong impact and commitment to making their publications financially sustainable. They’ll be guided by the following team of exceptional industry experts:

Boot Camp Co-Producer (and 2020 Boot Camp graduate!) Eva Voinigescu is a freelance journalist and audio producer based in Toronto. She currently produces the Energy vs Climate podcast.
Boot Camp Coach Natasha Grzincic (Gur-zin-sitch) is the deputy editor at VICE Canada and the force behind Tipping Point, VICE’s series on environmental justice. She’s also a co-founder of Canadian Journalists of Colour, “a networking and resource-sharing group for racialized journalists that’s now over 1,300 strong.”
Boot Camp Coach Hannah Sung is a journalist and co-founder of Media Girlfriends, a podcast production company focused on inclusivity in media. She also writes the newsletter At The End Of the Day.
Boot Camp Director Phillip Smith is a veteran consultant and coach. His passion is helping newsrooms to make more money, helping news startups grow their audience, and helping journalists succeed as entrepreneurs. The boot camp curriculum was developed during his time as a John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University.

“As someone born in Toronto General Hospital, who spent childhood summers with family in Quebec and Nova Scotia, as well as having spent a decade working in a startup newsroom in Vancouver, the opportunity to make the Boot Camp available to fellow Canadians is a real honour,” Smith said. “The individuals in this cohort are determined and their initiatives are very exciting — I can’t wait to get started.”

About the 2021 cohort:

10 publications will focus on a local or regional audience; 6 will focus on a demographic or identity-based audience
14 publications will explicitly serve an underrepresented or marginalized audience that doesn’t often see itself reflected in the media
56% of participants identify as a person of colour or as coming from an underrepresented or marginalized background
The publications will serve audiences in 7 Canadian provinces/territories
14 publications will be run by solopreneurs; 2 will operate as teams of two
10 publications haven’t launched yet; 6 are in the process of testing their idea or have very recently launched

Meet the 16 teams in the cohort:

*There are three additional startups not listed below that are remaining in stealth mode for now.
Clearing a New Path Serving: Dorchester, Ontario Description: Amplifying the underrepresented voices of women entrepreneurs in rural Canada Founder: Shauna Rae

From a Coloured Lens Serving: Vancouver, British Columbia Description: A podcast designed by and for BIPOC people, allowing them to share how mainstream issues impact their communities Founder: Ayesha Ghaffar

Latitodo Serving: Vancouver, British Columbia Description: A publication focused on the Latinx diaspora, specifically young adults who are interested in connecting with their heritage whilst adapting to life in Canada. Founder: Camila Castaneda

Island Edition Serving: Prince Edward Island Description: An independent journalism platform to report in-depth on the issues affecting Prince Edward Island, and to share the stories and experiences of the people living in Canada’s smallest province.

Mabuhay Canada Serving: Belleville, Ontario Description: Mabuhay Canada is a one-stop website featuring news, local and international Filipino newsmakers, services, shopping, travel and immigration needs for Filipinos living in Canada Founder: Yona Harvey

Mostafa Serving: Vancouver, British Columbia Description: Online new media focused on bringing newcomer and immigrant points of view to a greater audience Founder: Seyedmostafa Raziei

North Star Press Serving: Toronto, Ontario Description: A magazine/online paper for Black leftists, named North Star Press after Frederick Douglass’ anti slavery newspaper Founder: Ashleigh-Rae Thomas

Parles-on

Serving: Montreal, Quebec Description: A bilingual podcast about current events in Canada and beyond Founder: Cara Fox

South Shore Lines Serving: Nova Scotia’s South Shore Description: A rural, alternative digital magazine focused on news, arts, culture, and more for Nova Scotia’s South Shore Founder: Charles Mandel

Spinning Forward Serving: Toronto, Ontario Description: Collectively and collaboratively, we want to build and grow a more inclusive and strong online BIPOC creator community in Toronto on their own terms Founder: Flavian DeLima

The Flatlander Serving: Regina, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba Description: An email newsletter about important issues that impact Manitoba and Saskatchewan Founder: Kelly-Anne Riess

To Be Announced Serving: Toronto, Ontario Description: To be announced Founder: Jordan Maxwell

Twice as Good Media (2G) Serving: Halifax, Nova Scotia Description: A hub for compelling narratives and black talent in media Founder: Sandra Hannebohm

The GNI and LION would like to thank our panel of judges who were instrumental in selecting the cohort. They are: Gina Uppal from the On Canada Project, Colleen Kimmett from the Google News Initiative, Adam Chen from Talk Media, Jordan MacInnis from Journalists for Human Rights, Nkem Kalu from The Northpine Foundation, Julie Sobowale from the Canadian Association of Black Journalists, Sadiya Ansari from Canadian Journalists of Colour and Samanta Krishnapillai from the On Canada Project.

20 years of Google in Canada

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Twenty years later, the world has changed, online and off. The Harry Potter crew are no longer children and we’ve moved from Nickelback to The Weeknd. The hit musical Come from Away is returning to the stage to remind us that human connection and kindness still define us as Canadians. And wow, can we ever take a high quality photo with our new cell phones (especially with the Pixel, naturally).
Google Canada has changed, too. This month marks the 20th anniversary of Google’s arrival in Canada. And if you don’t remember the pomp and circumstance around the event, it’s because there wasn’t any.
Google Canada began with a single hire in a small workspace in Toronto in 2001 and a few short years later, Google opened its Montréal office. In 2005, Google set up shop in Canada’s technology hub, Waterloo, Ontario, and over the years we have become a part of the Waterloo region technology community, contributing volunteer hours to STEM education programs and hiring engineers to build Google products that Canadians and people around the world use every day. And now, Google Canada is home to more than 2,500 employees.
We’ve had our share of adventures - bringing maps to the north, helping Canadian businesses tap into the digital economy, opening Cloud regions in Montréal and Toronto to serve Canadian businesses, introducing the world to Canadian creators on YouTube and building new offices in Waterloo, Toronto and Montréal. For the past twenty years, we’ve been fortunate enough to help Canadians search, grow and connect to the world around them using Google products and services.
Creating opportunity for all Canadians During our time here, Google Canada has been investing in the communities where we live and work, through Google.org Community Grants, Google for Startups Accelerator programs, and investments in digital skills training. Over the last 20 years, Google has invested $25 million in Canadian non profits, looking to expand economic opportunity and to help Canadians learn new skills, through commitments to organizations like NPower Canada and ComIT.
And we have a long history of working closely with community partners and organizations across Canada to make STEM programs accessible to all students. In 2021, we reached more than 200,000 Canadian learners through STEM outreach and we trained approximately 4,000 educators in CS First. Our STEM and CS First outreach is orchestrated by Google Canada in conjunction with The Cobblestone Collective and supplemented by our Google Canada volunteers to support their local communities.
A home for Canadian engineering excellence
Canada has been synonymous with top notch computer science and engineering for more than 50 years. And most recently, AI research and advancement. It’s for this reason that in 2013 Google welcomed Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in the field of deep learning, to the Google Toronto office. And in 2016, Google Research started a Canadian centre of AI excellence by bringing Google Brain to Montréal. Google Brain is a deep learning artificial intelligence research team dedicated to artificial intelligence and every day, these world-leading teams tackle some of the biggest technological challenges of our time.
Google Canada engineers have conceived of, developed, and implemented innovative products that many Canadians might take for granted:

In 2011, Google Canada engineers played a key role in the development of the first Gmail app for iOS, bringing a Gmail app to the world for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
The Cloud Healthcare API, developed by the Cloud Healthcare & Life Sciences team in Waterloo since 2017, allows healthcare customers to organize and analyze their healthcare data in a scalable, compliant and privacy sensitive way. In 2020, the Cloud Healthcare API became widely available to healthcare organizations around the world.
Our Safe Browsing team in Montréal protects over 4 billion devices worldwide each year, delivering millions of warnings a month about phishing scams and other online threats.

Providing platforms for Canadian success stories: For over 20 years, Google has helped Canadian businesses of all sizes use our digital tools to grow and reach customers across the globe. Before COVID-19, making the transition to digital was aspirational for most business owners. When the pandemic upended all of our lives, it became essential. To better understand how Google products helped Canadian workers and businesses in 2020, Google commissioned independent consultancy Public First to take a look and they found that Google’s search and advertising tools helped provide an estimated $26 billion in economic activity for over 600,000 businesses in Canada. And in 2020 alone, the total economic impact of Google products and services in Canada is equivalent to 1.3% of total GDP, or the equivalent of supporting 235,000 jobs.
And YouTube has facilitated the rise of the Canadian creator economy, helping content creators build sustainable businesses on the platform. A report by Oxford Economics estimates that in 2020, YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed approximately $923 million to Canada’s GDP. In that same period YouTube supported the equivalent of 34,100 full-time employment jobs across Canada. Access to YouTube’s open platform continues to create a real and positive impact on the wider Canadian economy, and we can’t wait to watch the next generation of Canadian creators grow, create and connect on the platform.
This month, Google Canada is officially 20 years old and more than 2,500 Googlers strong. We’re working, living, and growing in communities across this country. We’re delivering innovations that are helping people through the toughest times of their lives. And we’re doing all of that as we stay committed to the same goal we were founded on: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
It only seems fitting that to celebrate the past 20 years, we take a look back at the most interesting searches over these two decades, to reflect back what Canadians have been curious about. And it turns out, what we’re most curious about is us. At its heart, Google is a place for people to ask questions – about ourselves, current events, and the world we are striving to create. So, after 20 years of Googling, we just wanted to say to all Canadians: thanks for asking.
Here’s to everything that comes next.
Posted by Google Canada

Our $600,000 commitment to reskill Indigenous job seekers for new careers in technology

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Research shows

That’s why today, Google Canada announced a $600,000 commitment to provide free digital skills training to Indigenous job seekers across Canada. The support includes a $500,000 Google.org grant towards ComIT’s Recoding Futures IT training program, an additional $100,000 in funding to support Indspire with their education and job training programs and an allocation of Google Career Certificate scholarships for Indigenous job seekers.

ComIT’s Recoding Futures program was created last year with the support of Google.org to provide IT training to Indigenous learners across Canada. In the first year of the Recoding Futures program, we saw overwhelming interest, with over 800 applicants, double than what was expected. Our additional support of the program moving forwards will allow ComIT to expand the program and accommodate as many applicants as possible. The program runs virtually and covers topics like Design Thinking, HTML, CSS, Javascript .NET, Python, React and Node.

Google Canada’s $100,000 commitment to Indspire will support their existing job training programs, and we will also provide an allocation of dedicated Google Career Certificate scholarships for Indigenous job seekers. The scholarships can be used towards Google Career Certificate courses, which are delivered through NPower Canada and equips learners with theoretical and practical knowledge to be successful in an entry-level technology job.

Applications are now open for ComIT’s Recoding Futures program. Interested applicants can visit ComIT.org to register.

For more information on Google Career Certificates visit g.co/certificates-canada. To find out more on scholarships available, visit Indspire’s website.

Today’s support is in addition to Google Canada’s $2 million commitment to reskill job seekers for new careers in technology in under six months, announced earlier this year. We look forward to working alongside ComIT and Indspire to help bridge the longstanding digital divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, increase free access to digital skills education and support economic growth within Indigenous communities.

Posted by Sabrina Geremia, VP and Country Manager, Google Canada

Official Canada Blog

Supporting communities across Canada in 2021

Applications are now open for the second Google Cloud Accelerator Canada Cohort

Speaking our language: The importance of a Mandarin Pixel 6 ad with Simu Liu

Canadian Tennis Star Leylah Fernandez joins #TeamPixel

Our third GNI Startups Boot Camp will support 16 Canadian news entrepreneurs

20 years of Google in Canada

Our $600,000 commitment to reskill Indigenous job seekers for new careers in technology

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