Greater Victoria is a finalist in the Smart Cities Challenge

Victoria’s push to become a more liveable and inclusive city looks like it might pay off: Greater Victoria is up for a $10 million prize to be rewarded by the Government of Canada as part of its Smart Cities Challenge.

The Smart Cities Challenge is a “new, competition-based approach that encourages communities to come up with innovative solutions to their most pressing issues.”

More than 200 communities across the country submitted proposals for how they’d improve the lives of their residents through the use of data and connected technology.

Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, announced the finalists on Friday, June 1.

Each finalist will now receive a $250,000 grant to develop their ideas into a final proposal. Four winners will be chosen in spring 2019.

“I am proud to see all the effort that communities have put into engaging with residents and in developing their Smart Cities Challenge proposals,” Sohi said.

“I challenged community leaders to be bold and think outside-the-box, and I am pleased to see that they answered the call through the innovative ideas they submitted.

Greater Victoria’s application was developed by the Southern Island Prosperity Project (SIPP), a collective of First Nations, municipal government, entrepreneurial businesses, community organizations, academic institutions, and NGO’s.

In its proposal, the South Island Prosperity Project said it would develop a multimodal transportation network that is “convenient, green and affordable, which will boost South Islanders’ mobility wellbeing score by at least 20%.”