By: Surjit Singh Flora
North York, Ont. – The Public Health Agency of Canada announced the grand prize winners of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge on Thursday at the Black Creek Community Health Centre. Sonia Sidhu, the Member of Parliament for Brampton South, made the announcement on behalf of Health Minister Marjorie Michel.
The federal government named Kinvia and Black Creek Community Health Centre as the top recipients of the National Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge, a multi-year competition designed to back community-led ideas that lower diabetes risk before people need more intensive medical care.
The challenge was launched by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Impact Canada to find practical answers to a growing health problem. Diabetes remains common across the country, and prevention becomes harder when people face poor food access, limited care, or weak day-to-day support.
Diabetes Canada says nearly 30 percent of Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes. That number has kept prevention high on the public health agenda, especially in communities where social and economic barriers raise the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The program was built to test ideas that could work in real life, not just on paper. Teams moved through three stages, starting with submissions, then semifinal development, and finally testing and results.
Kinvia worked with six Indigenous communities in several provinces. Its project used year-round greenhouses and local programming to improve access to fresh produce. The model was built around daily life in communities where healthy food is often harder to find.
Black Creek Community Health Centre created a community-led digital health coaching model for residents in Northwest Toronto, with a focus on Black communities. The project drew on lived experience, peer support, trust, and behaviour-change coaching. In prevention work, those relationships often matter as much as medical advice.
Each winner received $1.25 million, giving both groups room to refine and expand their programs while keeping community control at the centre of the work.
Sidhu said Kinvia and Black Creek Community Health Centre are improving access to health services for communities affected by type 2 diabetes. Judy A. Sgro said organizations across the country are seeing the distinct barriers faced by Indigenous people and higher-risk communities.
The challenge also reflects earlier work by Sidhu, who introduced Bill C-237, the National Framework for Diabetes Act. The bill passed unanimously in 2021 and led to the “Framework for Diabetes in Canada” in 2022. That framework pushed the federal government to build a national approach to prevention and treatment.
The broader goal is clear. Canada is trying to slow future diabetes cases by supporting local programs that fit the needs of the people they serve. Kinvia and Black Creek Community Health Centre show how prevention can take shape when communities help design the response.
