Ready to apply?
See if you’re eligible.
Ready to apply?
See if you’re eligible.
We’re looking for a broad selection of businesses across all sizes, stages, industries and communities across Canada.
Common questions
Does my business have to be a current customer of TELUS or partners?
No, this program is open to all eligible small businesses. You do not need to be an existing TELUS or partner customer to apply or be selected.
I just recently started my business, can I apply?
Yes, you’re eligible to apply. Businesses just starting are eligible to apply, as long as they are up and running at the time of application.
I’m a sole proprietor. Am I eligible?
As long as your business is an established business and generating revenue, sole proprietors are considered eligible to apply. Please list your employee size as 1.
Do I have to be in a specific industry in order to apply?
No, the program is open to small businesses across all industries and sectors. Whether you run a retail shop, a professional consultancy, a construction firm, or a creative studio, we encourage you to apply.
Are non-profits eligible to apply?
Yes, not-for-profits, registered charities, and social enterprises are considered eligible to apply. To be eligible, you must operate within Canada and primarily serve Canadian communities through innovative, grassroots programs that address pressing local challenges.
What do you consider an employee?
We consider an employee a full-time paid team member, even if they’re considered a contractor. Part-time team members can be considered as half an employee.
Are franchisees eligible to apply?
Yes, franchisees are eligible to apply. However, they must demonstrate how their business is standing out from the competition, including other franchisees.
Does my business have to be a current customer of TELUS or partners?
No, this program is open to all eligible small businesses. You do not need to be an existing TELUS or partner customer to apply or be selected.
I just recently started my business, can I apply?
Yes, you’re eligible to apply. Businesses just starting are eligible to apply, as long as they are up and running at the time of application.
I’m a sole proprietor. Am I eligible?
As long as your business is an established business and generating revenue, sole proprietors are considered eligible to apply. Please list your employee size as 1.
Do I have to be in a specific industry in order to apply?
No, the program is open to small businesses across all industries and sectors. Whether you run a retail shop, a professional consultancy, a construction firm, or a creative studio, we encourage you to apply.
Are non-profits eligible to apply?
Yes, not-for-profits, registered charities, and social enterprises are considered eligible to apply. To be eligible, you must operate within Canada and primarily serve Canadian communities through innovative, grassroots programs that address pressing local challenges.
What do you consider an employee?
We consider an employee a full-time paid team member, even if they’re considered a contractor. Part-time team members can be considered as half an employee.
Are franchisees eligible to apply?
Yes, franchisees are eligible to apply. However, they must demonstrate how their business is standing out from the competition, including other franchisees.
Does my business have to be a current customer of TELUS or partners?
No, this program is open to all eligible small businesses. You do not need to be an existing TELUS or partner customer to apply or be selected.
I just recently started my business, can I apply?
Yes, you’re eligible to apply. Businesses just starting are eligible to apply, as long as they are up and running at the time of application.
I’m a sole proprietor. Am I eligible?
As long as your business is an established business and generating revenue, sole proprietors are considered eligible to apply. Please list your employee size as 1.
Do I have to be in a specific industry in order to apply?
No, the program is open to small businesses across all industries and sectors. Whether you run a retail shop, a professional consultancy, a construction firm, or a creative studio, we encourage you to apply.
Are non-profits eligible to apply?
Yes, not-for-profits, registered charities, and social enterprises are considered eligible to apply. To be eligible, you must operate within Canada and primarily serve Canadian communities through innovative, grassroots programs that address pressing local challenges.
What do you consider an employee?
We consider an employee a full-time paid team member, even if they’re considered a contractor. Part-time team members can be considered as half an employee.
Are franchisees eligible to apply?
Yes, franchisees are eligible to apply. However, they must demonstrate how their business is standing out from the competition, including other franchisees.
How to make your application stand out.
How to make your application stand out.
“Apply and if you don't win the first time, apply again. I applied two years in a row, and each time I got better at telling our story. Don't overthink it, just be honest about who you are, what you're building, and why it matters. Your story is worth sharing!”Katrina Jean-Laflamme
Co-owner, UKKÖ Robotics
2025 winner
“Humanize your story. Skip the jargon and speak from the heart. Tell them why you started, who you built it for, and what actually changed because you showed up. And then get specific by sharing real numbers, real people and real impact. Show TELUS how your community is better because your business exists.”Darlene Jehn
Co-owner, mddl
2025 winner
“Just do it…and be authentic! If you know in your heart that what you are doing is doing good in this world, let that shine through. That honesty and sincere belief in yourself, your team, and the work you are doing means more than any flashy promotions or carefully crafted scripts ever could.”Aaron Stevenson
Owner, Ashored Innovations
2025 winner
“Tell your story with confidence, but back it up with real data. Show through example what makes you different, how you’ve adapted, and the results you’ve achieved. Be crystal clear on your vision, because that’s what turns a good application into a winning one.”Dawn Chapman
Owner, Lazy Daisy’s Café
2025 winner
“My best advice is to be specific about the impact your business is creating. Focus less on what you sell, and more on the problem you’re solving and the community you’re serving.”Paige Sandher
Co-owner, CouchHaus
2025 winner
Join the #StandWithOwners community and get your
business boosted.
Join the #StandWithOwners community and get your business boosted.
Contest rules
The #StandWithOwners application period begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) on June 2, 2026 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 2, 2026 (the “Application Period”).
The application is open to Canadian businesses that are currently operational, legally registered, revenue-generating and have between 1-100 employees.
Eligible applicants include for-profit businesses, registered charities, not-for-profit organizations, and social enterprises. To qualify, charities and not-for-profits must operate within Canada and primarily serve Canadian communities through innovative, grassroots programs that address pressing local challenges. These organizations must demonstrate financial sustainability, with the majority of their funding coming from individual donors, show measurable community impact, and maintain active partnerships with other local organizations. All charity and not-for-profit applicants must also meet the existing Stand With Owners eligibility requirements.
Applicants must be residents of Canada and have reached the age of majority according to the laws of the Province where they reside. Additionally, applicants must be either:
the owner of a company or business; or
an employee of an eligible business who has obtained written permission to participate in this application from the owner, president or chief executive officer of the business.
The application excludes employees of TELUS Corporation, its affiliated companies or subsidiaries (collectively “TELUS”), its advertising and promotional agencies and members of their respective immediate households and any person domiciled with any of the above.
Upon request by TELUS, each entrant must provide proof of their identity and qualification as an eligible entrant. Application may be disqualified where such proof is not provided upon request.
No purchase necessary. Applicants must apply in the following way:
- Visit our #StandWithOwners website at: telus.com/StandWithOwners during the contest period, and complete the online application in full.
No other form of participation is accepted. Only one entry per “Eligible Small Business” will be accepted for the duration of the contest.
All Applications received within the Application Period will be considered eligible for a chance to receive a maximum of (1) prize.
There will be nine (9) winners in total. Three (3) category award winners and six (6) community award winners.
Three (3) category award winners, as determined by the judging panel will be selected and will receive the following category award prize package valued at up to $125,000:
- Funding: direct funding ($50,000)
- Advertising and exposure: A custom photoshoot and additional brand exposure including but not limited to TELUS digital assets, in-store placements (approximate value ofup to $25,000)
- TELUS technology package: a TELUS technology package that includes:
- Three (3) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $6,120 LEGAL 1)
- One (1) PureFibre 1G Internet (value up to $3,960LEGAL 2)
- A TELUS Fully Managed credit (value up to $10,000 LEGAL 3)
- Fuel iX Copilots Essentials (approximate value up to $15,000 LEGAL 4)
- Wellbeing program: a wellbeing program from TELUS Health that includes:
- Two (2) TELUS Preventive Health Assessments (approximate value up to $5,500 LEGAL 5)
- a TELUS Health Essential Employee Assistance Program for up to 100 employees (approximate value up to $4,500 LEGAL 6)
- Partner prize package: a prize package from our supporting partners(approximate value up to $5,000)
LEGAL 1: Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans: winner will be provided a recurring bill credit or discount for 24 months and is responsible for all additional charges beyond the value of the credit. The prize is only applicable to mobility services and not hardware. If the winner terminates their services before the end of their contract period, any credits for the remaining months will be cancelled. Offer is not stackable with other code-based offers. Offer has no cash value and is not transferable. Offer cannot be substituted for other services. TELUS is not responsible for costs related to the termination of an existing TELUS service, or services with a competitive carrier. TELUS Technology prize must be redeemed by December 21, 2026 or will be forfeited and no additional prize will be provided or substituted.
LEGAL 2: PureFibre 1G Internet: winner will be provided a recurring bill credit or discount for 36 months and is responsible for all additional charges beyond the value of the credit. The prize is only applicable to internet services and not hardware. In areas where PureFibre is not available, TELUS will provide the next highest internet speed available in the winners’ service area. If the winner terminates their services before the end of their contract period, any credits for the remaining months will be cancelled. Offer is not stackable with other code-based offers. Offer has no cash value and is not transferable. Offer cannot be substituted for other services. TELUS is not responsible for costs related to the termination of an existing TELUS service, or services with a competitive carrier. TELUS Technology prize must be redeemed by December 21, 2026 or will be forfeited and no additional prize will be provided or substituted.
LEGAL 3: FullyManaged credit: winner will be provided a recurring bill credit for 24 months and is responsible for all additional charges beyond the value of the credit. If the winner terminates their services before the end of their contract period, any credits for the remaining months will be cancelled. Offer is not stackable with other code-based offers. Offer has no cash value and is not transferable. Offer cannot be substituted for other services. TELUS is not responsible for costs related to the termination of an existing TELUS service, or services with a competitive carrier. TELUS Technology prize must be redeemed by December 21, 2026 or will be forfeited and no additional prize will be provided or substituted.
LEGAL 4: Fuel iX Copilots Essentials: winner will be provided with 12 months of access for up to 25 users and includes: 35,000 Messages / month, inference included up to cap, User Administration Panel, Usage Reporting, LLM Selection (currently GPT-4o, Gemini Pro 1.5 Flash, Claude Sonnet), 200 Self-Serve Domain Copilots, Unlimited Copilot Team Sharing, Serverless RAG (Integrated Chat & Copilot File Upload up to 10,000 pages). The winner will be responsible for any overages or additional users.
LEGAL 5: TELUS Preventative Health Assessments are available at select locations located in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal Downtown, Quebec City, and Ottawa. Prize does not include travel, accommodations or additional costs associated with fulfillment of the prize. Some locations may have a waitlist due to demand.
LEGAL 6:TELUS Essential Employee Assistance Program: a maximum of 3 counselling sessions per service permitted per employee during the one year term.
Six (6) community prize winners determined by the judging panel will receive the following prize package:
Logistics Leader Award
The Logistics Leader Award will receive:
The Logistics Leader Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- $5,000 in Petro Canada Points
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
Community Spaces Award
The Community Spaces Award will receive:
The Community Spaces Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- $5,000 in prizing from ZS2 technologies
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
Neighbourhood Gem Award
The Neighbourhood Gem Award will receive:
The Neighbourhood Gem Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
Five additional Neighbourhood Gem Award winners will be selected to be featured as a spotlight across our TELUS Business social media platforms as an opportunity for national exposure and recognition to TELUS’ online community. Additional features may be used, including podcasts and photography.
Business Catalyst Award
The Business Catalyst Award will receive:
The Business Catalyst Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
The Community Wellness Award:
The Community Wellness Award will receive:
The Community Wellness Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- Wellbeing program: a wellbeing program from TELUS Health that includes two (2) TELUS Preventive Health Assessments (approximate value up to $5,500 LEGAL 5) and a TELUS Health Essential Employee Assistance Program for up to 100 employees (approximate value up to $4,500 LEGAL 6)
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
The Social Purpose Award:
The Social Purpose Award will receive:
The Social Purpose Award will receive:
- $10,000 in funding
- Two (2) Business 5G+ Complete Unlimited plans (value up to $4,080 LEGAL 1)
Upon announcement of the category and community award winners on October 1, 2026, the public will have an opportunity to vote for their favourite #StandWithOwners winner. The winner that receives the most votes will receive an additional $25,000 in funding. In the event of a tie a random draw will be conducted amongst the tied winners.
Winners will be selected based on the following judging criteria:
- Purpose & community impact: We are looking for an authentic origin story, along with demonstrating how your business is making a positive impact on your community. (weighting 50%)
- Business growth: We are looking for owners that demonstrate how a program or approach drove growth in their business and specifically improved the well-being and experience of their employees, customers, and/or the broader community. (weighting 25%)
- Technology innovation: We are looking for owners that demonstrate how digital tools, data, or automation have tangibly solved a business problem, improved efficiency, or created a more seamless customer experience. (weighting 25%)
We strive to showcase a wide spectrum of enterprises spanning various sectors, geographical locations and community backgrounds. Our selection process is designed to ensure comprehensive representation across the business landscape. The final decisions regarding featured businesses will be made exclusively by our panel of judges, taking into account factors such as innovation, impact and uniqueness.
Our commitment to diversity extends beyond just industry sectors. We actively seek to highlight businesses of different sizes, from new businesses to established companies, as well as those with unique business models or addressing specific market needs. This approach allows us to present a holistic view of the current business environment and inspire a broad range of Canadian business owners.
Due to the substantial number of submissions we receive and the highly competitive nature of our selection process, we regrettably cannot offer personalized feedback on individual applications. We carefully review each submission, but the volume of entries prevents us from providing specific recommendations for improvement. We encourage all applicants to present their businesses in the best possible light, focusing on what makes their business stand out in their respective markets.
Category and community award winners will be selected by the judging panel, consisting of TELUS and our partner representatives at approximately 12:00 p.m. EDT on or about September 24, 2026.
TELUS will attempt to contact each selected entrant by email and/or telephone. To be confirmed a winner, the selected entrant must:
- respond to the telephone and/or email notification within two (2) business days of being contacted; and
- review, sign and return, within the timeframe specified, any and all agreements as required by TELUS, including waivers, release agreement, release of liability and indemnity agreements and intellectual property licenses.
Selected entrants determined by TELUS to be ineligible, for reasons including but not limited to failure to comply with the Contest Rules, failure to be contacted or failure to respond to contact attempts, within the designated timeframe, will be disqualified.
In addition, TELUS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any selected entrant if it is determined that their participation creates a conflict of interest with TELUS, the Contest, or its partners. Such conflicts may include personal or professional affiliations with the judging panel, existing or past legal disputes, or any commercial relationship that could reasonably be perceived to compromise the integrity or impartiality of the Contest. For greater certainty, being a current or former customer of TELUS or its partners does not, in and of itself, constitute a conflict of interest.
If a selected entrant is deemed ineligible, TELUS reserves the right to award the Prize to the entrant whose Application was awarded with the next highest score in accordance with the judging criteria in their sole discretion. TELUS may, at their sole discretion, profile the confirmed winners and their Applications in print, digital, electronic, mobile and social media formats of TELUS and their partners. All confirmed Finalists hereby consent to the profiling and publication of their Applications in accordance with these guidelines, and will use reasonable efforts to cooperate in the preparation of such profiles and publicity by TELUS and its partners.
All application entries (the “Entry(ies)”) become the property of TELUS upon submission and will not be returned. TELUS does not claim ownership of the underlying ideas, concepts, or business information disclosed in an entry. The Entrant retains all rights to their business ideas and any confidential or proprietary information included within their entry. TELUS agrees not to disclose any proprietary or confidential business information contained in the entry to a third party without the Entrant's consent, except where required by law or as reasonably necessary for the purposes of administering the Contest including judging or prize fulfillment.
By submitting an Entry, Entrants acknowledge and agree that TELUS is under no obligation to delete, destroy, or return any Entry or any portion thereof, even if requested by the Entrant. TELUS may retain entries for record-keeping, audit, or legal compliance purposes.
TELUS assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged or misdirected entries or for any failure of the website, for any problems or technical malfunction of any computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by TELUS on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof including any injury or damage to an entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from this application. TELUS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, cancel or suspend this application should a virus, bug or other cause beyond the reasonable control of TELUS and its advertising and promotional agencies, corrupt the security or proper administration of the contest or for any other reason. Entries are subject to verification and will be declared invalid if they are illegible, mechanically reproduced, mutilated, forged, falsified, altered or tampered with or unlawful in any way. Entries submitted by unauthorized means or by spamming will be disqualified. In the event that it has been determined that an entry has been made in a manner not sanctioned by these rules and/or an entrant has submitted more than the number of entries permitted by these rules, the entrant and all of his/her entries will be disqualified. Entrants agree to abide by the application guidelines and the decisions of the judges, which are final. This contest is subject to all applicable laws and regulations.
You hereby warrant that your Entry is wholly original and that you are the copyright owner of the Entry. You warrant that your Entry does not infringe or violate any intellectual property rights including copyrights and trade-‐marks, proprietary rights, privacy or publicity rights, or any other rights of any kind whatsoever including any federal, provincial or municipal laws. The Entry has not been created using any pirated or unlicensed content, or other materials that include copyrighted or trademarked material that Contest Sponsors would not be entitled to use without a further payment to the intellectual property owner.
By participating in this Contest, entrants consent to the use of their names, city of residence, photograph, voice and/or image for publicity purposes in all media used by TELUS and its partners, without payment or compensation. Entrants agree to TELUS’ use of the entrants’ personal information that may include contacting you regarding limited-time offers, promotional offers and/or surveys. Full details are as described in the TELUS Privacy Centre located at
telus.com/privacy
.