Growcer Recognized with 2026 Governor General’s Innovation Award
April 9, 2026 
Alida Burke (L) and Corey Ellis (R), the co-founders of Growcer. | The Growcer Inc.
Growcer is being acknowledged for its leadership in modular food technology as one of five organizations across Canada to receive the 2026 Governor General’s Innovation Award. The award recognizes innovators whose work is transformative and improves the quality of life in Canada.
“We are thrilled to receive this award,” said Growcer co-founders Alida Burke and Corey Ellis in a release. “It validates community and Indigenous leaders, and non-profit champions across Canada who are done waiting for a better food system and are building one themselves.”
Canada’s leaders have increasingly highlighted the importance of food security and resilient supply chains. As Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Davos, “A country that cannot feed itself…has few options.”
Communities are using Growcer’s modular farms to feed families fresh, nutritious food; give young people hands-on science education; create local jobs; and reconnect with food systems that reflect their own values and culture.
“The real work is done by the leaders who choose to build something different, and keep going when the barriers make it easier to stop,” said Ellis. “That is where the real innovation lives. Not in the technology, but in the bold, deliberate choices being made by organizations and leaders to build opportunity through food for generations to come.”
For additional information on the award and Growcer’s current work, including its recently launched Fresh Solutions campaign, please read the full press release here.