Government of Canada announces Grand Prize Winners of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge

Press Release

May 20, 2026

Diabetes is a common chronic condition affecting many, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes varies due to many factors, including social, economic, environmental, and genetic influences.

Today, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South, on behalf of the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, announced the two Grand Prize Winners of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge: Kinvia and the Black Creek Community Health Centre. Both projects demonstrated innovation and long-term potential to support people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Each winner received $1.25 million in funding to continue scaling up their innovative concept.

Kinvia deployed the Creating a Sustainable Mechanism for Nutritious Food to Combat Type 2 Diabetes in Indigenous Communities project in collaboration with six Indigenous communities across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. The project aims to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes and improve overall health of Indigenous youth in the community by increasing accessibility to fresh produce via 365-day greenhouses.

The Black Creek Community Health Centre’s Digital Health Coaching Delivered by Community to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes project formed a community/corporate partnership to co-design and train community health workers with lived-experience to deliver health coaching through a digital health platform. The project’s focus is to improve the sustained adoption of health behaviours across this Black and high-risk community in northwest Toronto.

Supporting equitable access to prevention, early detection, and care, alongside promoting overall well-being through physical activity, tobacco cessation, and nutritious eating, can help reduce the risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and improve health outcomes for all.

Quotes

“Congratulations to Kinvia and the Black Creek Community Health Centre for their creativity and commitment to designing and implementing projects that benefit Indigenous and Black communities. The Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge connected innovators and partners to break down barriers and turn prevention strategies into action. By strengthening on-the-ground partnerships like these, we are advancing health equity so that no one is left behind.”

The Honourable Marjorie Michel
Minister of Health

“As Grand Prize Winners, Kinvia and the Black Creek Community Health Centre, are improving access to health care services for communities in Canada that are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes. They are creating supportive communities and are contributing to research, surveillance and prevention activities, addressing the risks and barriers that increase the risk of developing this disease. We look forward to seeing how these investments support continued scaling of their projects, making them sustainable and increasing their impact at the community-level.”

Sonia Sidhu
Member of Parliament for Brampton South

“Organizations across the country, like Kinvia and the Black Creek Community Health Centre, are recognizing the need to better understand the unique challenges that Indigenous Peoples and communities with a higher risk of diabetes face. By working together, we are combining our expertise to advance innovative approaches to diabetes prevention and improve health outcomes for Canadians.”

The Honourable Judy A. Sgro
Member of Parliament for Humber River – Black Creek

Quick facts

There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type; about 90 to 95% of people living with diabetes have type 2. A variety of factors influence the development of type 2 diabetes, including age, genetics, modifiable lifestyle risk factors, and intersecting social, economic, and environmental determinants of health.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity, healthy eating, limiting alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking.
Diabetes disproportionately affects certain populations within Canada. Evidence shows that Indigenous Peoples and people of African, East Asian and South Asian ethnic backgrounds have higher rates of type 2 diabetes compared to the general population.
Since 2023, the Government of Canada invested a total of $7.4 million through the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge’s three stages. The two Grand Prize Winners have been selected by the panel of expert judges for their most impressive results from stage three.
The Framework for Diabetes in Canada, tabled in October 2022, provides a common policy direction to focus efforts to address diabetes and to ensure better health outcomes for people in Canada.

Associated links

Contacts

Alexandre Bergeron
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Health
alexandre.bergeron@hc-sc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Public Health Agency of Canada
613-957-2983
media@hc-sc.gc.ca

Public Inquiries:
613-957-2991
1-866-225-0709

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