Six recipients from across Canada recognized for their ground-breaking work and excellence in Innovation

OTTAWA, ON, May 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Today the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) announced the recipients of the Governor General's Innovation Awards (GGIA). These awards recognize and celebrate exceptional Canadian individuals, teams and organizations for their excellence in innovation and their contributions in helping to shape our future and positively impact our quality of life.

This year, the Governor General's Innovation Awards are celebrating 10 years of recognizing Canada's most transformative innovators.  Throughout the years, these awards have not only honoured exceptional Canadian innovations, but have also inspired innovators of all ages to drive progress in diverse fields, from science and technology to the arts and social innovation.

The recipients of the 2025 Governor General's Innovation Awards are: 

GHGSat Vanguard (C-10)
(Mr. Stéphane Germain)

GHGSat's pioneering emissions-monitoring capabilities empower decision-makers to tackle emissions, driving industrial efficiency with positive impact. Harnessing the power of satellites and aircraft, GHGSat traces emissions directly to their source at an unmatched speed, delivering the data and insights required to take action and accelerate the decarbonization of the planet.
Nominated by: Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) 

Heart-on-a-chip for drug discovery and disease modelling
(Dr. Milica Rasidic)

Biowire heart-on-a-chip revolutionizes drug testing by modeling human heart disease with patient-specific stem cells. Unlike animal models, it captures human genetic diversity and sex differences. Dr. Radisic's method uses electrical stimulation and microfabricated polymers to grow contractile tissues, aiding disease research and drug discovery for Canadian patients and pharma.
Nominated by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) 

Student Energy
(Helen Watts, Angela Paley, Shakti Ramkumar, Abdullah Khair, Claris Canta)

Founded in 2009, Student Energy empowers youth to lead a just, equitable, and sustainable energy transition through education, skills-building, and global collaboration. With 50,000 members in 120+ countries and 60+ university chapters, it's Canada's largest youth-led energy organization, driving innovation through partnerships with governments, companies, and communities.
Nominated by: PrairiesCan 

NORS - National Overdose Response Service 
(Dr. Sumantra Monty Gosh and Lisa Morris-Miller)

The NORS program is Canada's only national service supporting people who use drugs alone, addressing a key cause of overdose deaths. It has answered 16,000+ calls, prevented nearly 150 deaths, and become a vital lifeline—gaining international recognition.
Nominated by: Universities Canada 

Dispersa -Decarbonizing surfactants through food waste
(Nivatha Balendra)

Dispersa has developed the world's first proprietary process to produce waste-derived biosurfactants. These biosurfactants are affordable, non-toxic alternatives to petroleum-based and synthetic surfactants in consumer products. On a scale, their first biosurfactant, PuraSurf will eliminate nearly 1 million tons of CO2 equivalents.
Nominated by: Ingenium 

ODARA – The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment
(Dr. N. Zoe Hilton accepting for Angela Eke, Elke Ham, Kate Lines) 

ODARA is the world's first data-driven tool for assessing future intimate partner violence risk. Developed through a 25-year police-academic collaboration, it helps responders identify high-risk cases, improve safety planning, and allocate resources. Widely used in Canada and the U.S., it has shaped global approaches to violence risk assessment.
Nominated by: Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

2025 GGIA Selection and Assessment Committees 
The GGIA Selection and Assessment Committees are composed of distinguished individuals chosen for their expertise in and breadth of understanding of the Canadian innovation ecosystem. 
2025 GGIA Assessment Committee:  

• David Brown (Committee Chair), Co-Founder and COO of Chinova Bioworks, Founder of MYCODEV Group and GGIA Laureate 2017
• Jennifer Altenberg, Coordinator of Learning Services for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools
• Marcia Nozick, Founder EMBERS (the Eastside Movement for Business and Economic Renewal Society)
• Melissa Allen, Founder Capital M Ventures

2025 GGIA Selection Committee:  

• Dr. Robert Luke (Committee Chair), Chief Executive Officer, eCampusOntario
• Julie L'Heureux, Director, Philanthropy and Community Relations, at Power Corporation of Canada
• Aatifd Baskendri, Chief Executive Officer, The Northpine Foundation

An event celebrating the 2025 GGIA Laureates will take place on May 29, 2025 at Rideau Hall during Canadian Innovation Week (May 26 to 30). 

About the Governor General's Innovation Awards  

Launched in 2016, the Governor General's Innovation Awards inspire Canadians to embrace innovation and to emulate innovative, entrepreneurial risk-takers who have developed new or better ways of creating value and who are having a meaningful impact on our quality of life.  

The Awards are given to individuals, teams and/or organizations whose innovations are: 

• truly exceptional;
• transformative; and,
• positive in their impact on quality of life in Canada.

Each year, up to six award winners are identified through a two-stage, merit-based selection process. For more information on the awards visit innovation.gg.ca. 

About the Rideau Hall Foundation  
The Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) is a non-political national charity that brings together ideas, people and resources to celebrate what is best about Canada. The RHF works closely with many partners, including the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, to meaningfully improve lives and foster the conditions for more Canadians to succeed and thrive. The RHF manages all aspects of the Governor General's Innovation Awards. 

Learn more about the RHF at www.rhf-frh.ca, and follow us on social media:
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SOURCE Rideau Hall Foundation

For media inquiries, contact: Jill Clark, Rideau Hall Foundation, [email protected], 613-809-1480