The beginning of a new year is a time to pause and think. We reflect on what has passed and we look forward to our vision of what can be moving forward. As a dynamic, mission-driven team, Buy Social Canada has big goals for 2025. 

While we may face changing political landscapes this year, we will champion social enterprise and social procurement as non-partisan solutions that put community wellbeing first and make dollars go further. 

Read our new year's blog to learn more about what we accomplished with our partners in 2024, and what we look forward to achieving in 2025.

Let’s work together to maintain momentum for economic transformation.

In collaboration,

The Buy Social Canada Team

Elizabeth, Tori, Emma, Niamh, Charlotte, Sabrina, Josephine, Em and Jess

Since 2019 we have celebrated Social Procurement Champion Awards to recognize that Buy Social Canada's leadership comes in part from how we support and promote other organizations who create impact in supply chains. In the last quarter of 2024 we shared an “Updates from the Marketplace Revolution” blog series with updates from past Social Procurement Champion Award winners. See the first three blogs here to get caught up: Federal Government winner, municipal government winners, private sector winners.

The fourth and final blog spotlights past social enterprise winners CleanStart Property Services, EMBERS Staffing, BUILD, Building Up, and Impact Construction, who create impacts in communities across Canada through their work and leverage contracts to create inclusive employment and training opportunities, while also offering wraparound supports for their employees.

Stay tuned to get involved in the nomination process for our Social Procurement Champion Award winners in 2025.

Buy Social Canada provides customized training to support your team with the skills and knowledge to buy and sell with impact wherever you’re at in your journey.

We offer:

• Social Procurement Introduction: What, Why and How
• Social Procurement Implementation: Tools and Templates for Action
• Social Procurement in Construction: Community Benefit Agreements
• Procurement for Social Value Suppliers
• Storytelling for Social Value Suppliers
• And more

All our training sessions can be tailored to your audience, specific needs, context, and strategic goals.

City of Edmonton hosted the first Sustainable Procurement Advisory Committee meeting in December 2024 to bring community, industry and administration together to discuss how to leverage the City’s procurement spend to create economic, environmental and social impacts.

Buy Social Canada worked with the City of Edmonton to design the committee and the extensive Sustainable Procurement Program framework and tools. The committee was excited and supportive of the City's efforts and looks forward to updates on implementation and outcomes that will drive community value.

If this kind of committee would be helpful for your community, don't hesitate to reach out to work with us.

Register by January 9 for an early bird discount for the Social Procurement Professional Certificate

February 2025 cohort:

February 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2025 from 10am – 12pm PT / 1 – 3pm ET

Online via Zoom

Save with early bird rates when you register before January 9. Final registration deadline February 3.

Designed for purchasers from the public and private sectors. Read the course outline (pdf) to learn more.

Join Buy Social Canada at FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference in Fredericton next month

February 10-13, 2025

Fredericton, NB

Buy Social Canada will host a 3 hour workshop on how to apply Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund (GMF) Socio-economic Benefits Framework. Buy Social Canada worked with GMF on developing the framework in 2023. We look forward to supporting local governments who are working on important climate resiliency projects to track and measure how those projects also support socio-economic value. 

Welcome to our newest Social Purchasing Partner, City of Toronto!

The City of Toronto has had a Social Procurement Program since 2016, and we look forward to supporting the City to continue momentum on their social procurement journey.

The 2400 Motel in Vancouver has been a frequent participant in our Vancouver Social Procurement Roundtable meetings since they participated in Buy Social Canada's Social Procurement Professional Certificate course earlier in 2024. With inspiration from this network, they found social enterprises to purchase corporate holiday gifts from.

All the goodies inside their “Forever Kingsway” tote bag were purchased directly from local East Vancouver community members, including Certified Social Enterprises East Van Roasters and PASS Marketplace.

“So far the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and this is a great way to showcase local talent, and also sow the seeds for more companies to join us! As more people see the practical fits for social procurement, while still achieving high quality products, the movement should continue to grow!" - Kristian Miller, General Manager, 2400 Motel

"As Boomers retire, non-profits are saving local businesses for non-profit purposes." 

A recent article from Future of Good outlines the growing movement and future potential for social acquisition in Canada, and it's great to see Buy Social Canada Community Champion Scale Collaborative and Certified Social Enterprise Just Like Family Home Care given credit as experts on this subject.

This short documentary highlights the power of social enterprises to save local businesses and improve community wellbeing - a nice cozy watch for the winter season.

Step Up Construction

Located in Winnipeg, MB, Step Up Construction provides construction, landscaping and property maintenance services to commercial, residential, and civil clients. 

They create skills training and employment opportunities for people facing barriers to employment. Roughly 90% of their employees are Indigenous, and many employees are transitioning out of the criminal justice system. 

The Ocean Legacy Foundation

Based in North Vancouver, BC, the Ocean Legacy Foundation provides innovative solutions for tackling plastic pollution through marine debris collection, recycling, and education initiatives. They transform recovered plastics, including ghost gear and ocean-bound waste, into high-quality Legacy Plastic products while offering services such as marine debris recycling programs, strategic waste management consulting, and global capacity-building workshops to address plastic pollution effectively.

CultivATE Food Truck

Based in Vancouver BC, CultivATE Food Truck serves up delectable dishes while empowering individuals facing barriers to employment by providing training and strong wages. Bring their food truck to any location in Vancouver and Metro Vancouver to eat delicious food while making a difference. 

541 Eatery & Exchange

Based in Hamilton, ON, 541 Eatery & Exchange is a community focussed cafe and catering company that exists to support community development for folks facing poverty and food insecurity. In the evenings, their cafe space is used to host community events.

Through their work they create skills training and employment opportunities for young people entering the workforce.