Past Innovators in B.C.

Some notable companies in B.C. from previous iterations of our Top 20 Innovators in B.C. lists. AbeBooks Inc. (No. 2, 2009) Created an online network allowing used book-stores to sell around the world. Bought by ­Amazon in 2009.? BuildDirect Technologies Inc. (No. 4, 2009; No. 6, 2010) Sells building material online, sourcing from small and medium-sized Asian manufacturers using an advanced proprietary logistics system.? Burnaby Centre For Mental Health and Addiction (No. 10, 2010)

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Some notable companies in B.C. from previous iterations of our Top 20 Innovators in B.C. lists.

AbeBooks Inc. (No. 2, 2009)

Created an online network allowing used book-stores to sell around the world. Bought by ­Amazon in 2009.


BuildDirect Technologies Inc. (No. 4, 2009; No. 6, 2010)

Sells building material online, sourcing from small and medium-sized Asian manufacturers using an advanced proprietary logistics system.


Burnaby Centre For Mental Health and Addiction (No. 10, 2010)

A care facility based on the idea that addiction and mental-health problems are often closely related and must be treated together.


Bycast Inc. (No. 6, 2009)

Developed a fast and robust online storage system that hospitals around the world use to share medical imaging files.


Coastal Contacts Inc. (No. 19, 2010)

One of the world’s leading online retailers of contact lenses brought in a sophisticated manufacturing process to enter the market for glasses.


Day4 Energy Inc. (No. 5, 2009; No. 13, 2010)

Manufactures an advanced solar-panel design that minimizes internal electrical resistance, which reduces the cost-per-kilowatt of solar-power generation.


Elastic Path Software Inc. (No. 16, 2010)

Developed a streamlined e-commerce application that has allowed clients such as Vanoc to easily set up online stores. 


HootSuite Media Inc.
(No. 5, 2010)

Built soft- ­ware that has become a favourite tool for organizations to manage their social media activities, particularly Twitter. (HootSuite is No. 10 on this year’s list.)


Light-Based Technologies Inc. (No. 18, 2010)

Developed a unique control system for LED lighting, a growing market in an energy-limited economy. 


Lululemon Athletica Inc. (No. 10, 2009; No. 15, 2010)

Brought the yoga-centric fashion craze to the world and has since expanded its operation with a novel community-focused franchising strategy.


MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (No. 1, 2009; No. 2, 2010)

Responsible for such projects as Canadarm and Radarsat, this advanced engineering firm has also been successful as a data-services company.


NowPublic (No. 11, 2010)


An innovator in developing and commercializing citizen journalism. 


Nurse Next Door 
Professional Home 
Healthcare Services Inc. (No. 17, 2010)

Manages a retail network of thousands of caregivers who provide home-visit health-care services across Canada. 


Quic Financial Technologies Inc. (No. 20, 2010)

Developed software used by the financial industry to calculate investment risk.


Renewal Partners (No. 12, 2010)

A venture capital firm dedicated to businesses that give equal importance to profits, environmental sustainability and social well-being.


Richie Brothers Auctioneers Inc. (No. 9, 2010)

Uses a suite of novel online tools to sell heavy industrial equipment around the world.


Tantalus Systems Corp. (No. 8, 2010)

Implements smart-grid systems for utilities in North America, allowing two-way communication between utilities and their clients. 


Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (No. 8, 2009; No. 14, 2010)

Designed an indispensable delivery technique for RNA-interference drugs, a potentially revolutionary class of medicines being developed by the world’s major pharmaceuticals.


Teradici Corp. (No. 4, 2010)

Develops powerful computer chips with the world’s major computer companies to allow something called PC over IP, where all the computing in a workplace takes place in a single central core that is accessed remotely by workers. 



The Tyee (No. 9, 2009)

A website delivering a unique brand of news that is supported by a donation-based business model as an alternative to purely advertisement-based media.


Vancity (No. 3, 2009)

A credit union that has married financial performance with social well-being, introducing innovative banking services to help minorities, low-income people and the environment.


Vision Critical Communications Inc. (No. 3, 2010) 


Led the market-research industry in the use of online panels, which allow thousands of pre-selected respondents to give rapid online responses to surveys. (Vision Critical is No. 11 on this year’s list.)


Westbank Projects Corp. 
and the Woodward’s 
Development (No. 1, 2010)

Built an ambitious mixed-
income housing complex in Vancouver’s troubled Downtown Eastside, which has sparked further neighbourhood-wide development.


Westport Innovations Inc. (No. 7, 2009; No. 7, 2010)

Through partnerships with some of the world’s biggest truck manufacturers, designs a range of low-emission heavy truck engines that run on natural gas.