September 22, 2020

Thunder Bay, ON, September 22, 2020. . . Today, Lakehead University announced a $75,000 gift from Canada Life to support Lakehead Thunder Bay’s Ingenuity Community space – part of Ingenuity, the new business incubator and makerspace located in the University’s Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering and Sciences (CASES) building.

While many study groups, events, and project meetings this fall will be virtual given the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakehead is excited that this space will be available to students when the time comes to head back to campus.

“Canada Life is pleased to support educational initiatives like the Ingenuity project aimed at helping youth grow and discover opportunities,” said Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, for Canada Life. “Now more than ever, innovation and creativity are important to solving social and environmental needs. We hope the mentorship and job opportunities that come from this learning- and makerspace will help set the students, university and community on a path to even greater success in the years to come.”

As a designated space within the Ingenuity business incubator, the room is a comfortable open spot for students from all faculties to meet, study, and work on start-ups. A privacy phone booth and lockers offer students security when working on projects, and a whiteboard wall calendar lists a variety of on-campus and community business development activities and events.

“The Canada-Life Ingenuity Community room is an essential part of the Ingenuity organization. It is the place where entrepreneurial people from outside of Lakehead University can gather to develop new business ideas with mentorship and guidance from Ingenuity staff,” said Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Vice-President, Research & Innovation at Lakehead University. “We’re grateful to Canada Life for this contribution that supports the development of this unique space allowing for the convergence of entrepreneurial activities.”

Community partners, such as the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, the City of Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and Entrepreneur Centre, and Thunder Bay Ventures, will have on-site hours, and host meetings to discuss resources to support budding entrepreneurs when in-person gatherings are safe to resume.

About The Canada Life Assurance Company

Canada Life is a leading insurance, wealth management and benefits provider focused on improving the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. For more than 170 years, individuals, families and business owners across Canada have trusted us to provide sound guidance and deliver on the promises we’ve made.

As of January 1, 2020, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life became one company – Canada Life, and today, we proudly serve more than 13 million customer relationships from coast to coast to coast.

About Lakehead University

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2019, Maclean’s 2020 University Rankings, once again, included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year. Visit lakeheadu.caOpens a new website in a new window.

For more information contact:

Megan McIlmoyl
Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
Canada Life
519-857-6334
Media.Relations@canadalife.com

Brandon Walker
Media, Communications and Marketing Associate
Lakehead University
807-343-8177
MediaRelations@lakeheadu.ca