Build It. Protect It. Elevate It.
By Kristine Derksen, Director of Marketing & Communications, North Forge™️
When you are building a startup, intellectual property is not always the first thing keeping you awake at night.
There is a product to develop. Customers to find. Employees to hire. Capital to raise. Protecting your intellectual property can feel like something you will get to later.
The problem is that later can sometimes be too late.
Most Canadian businesses never get to it at all. Just 15% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold intellectual property, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s most recent Survey on Financing and Growth of SMEs. 7% have a registered trademark. 2% have a patent.
At North Forge, we see firsthand how quickly an idea can move from something sketched at a kitchen table, prototyped on a shop floor or developed behind a computer screen to an asset with real commercial value. A company’s technology, software, brand, processes and know-how can become some of the most valuable things it owns.
That is why the renewal of ElevateIP for another 4 years is important news for innovators in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
North Forge’s role as the ElevateIP delivery partner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan has also been renewed, allowing us to continue helping founders understand, protect and commercialize the intellectual property behind their businesses.
ElevateIP is a national program led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it is delivered by North Forge in partnership with Communitech.
The first 3 years show the demand. Between April 2023 and March 2026, North Forge supported more than 700 SMEs across Manitoba and Saskatchewan through all tiers of ElevateIP. That work produced 104 custom IP strategies, supported 314 new IP applications and delivered approximately $3.5 million in direct funding to participating companies. Founders rated the experience with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91.
“We pushed diligently and were proud to contribute to the national effort to demonstrate why ElevateIP needed to continue. Seeing the program renewed for another 4 years is something our entire team is incredibly proud of,” said Joelle Foster, President and CEO of North Forge. “The results from the first 3 years demonstrate the need for this support. We now have the opportunity to build on that momentum and help even more innovators protect what they are creating.”
The next chapter of ElevateIP also comes with important changes.
From September 9 to 23, eligible startups across Manitoba and Saskatchewan can apply through a program rebuilt to make the IP journey easier to understand and navigate.
Requirements have been simplified. Criteria are clearer. Resources have been updated. Funding tiers are better defined. A new portal, developed with Communitech, gives founders 1 place to register, apply, and work through the steps that follow.
The objective is simple: help founders make informed decisions about what they are building and how they protect it.
Intellectual property is much bigger than patents. It can include trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets, software, data and proprietary processes. Managed strategically, those assets can strengthen a company’s competitive position, support commercialization and help prepare a business for investment and expansion.
We have seen that firsthand.
When Campaign Compass founder Nancy Cooke introduced her election campaign management platform at a U.S. conference, she could not have anticipated that someone would later attempt to register the Campaign Compass name and exact business description in Texas.
Suddenly, IP was directly connected to the company’s ability to expand into the United States. Cooke subsequently participated in North Forge’s Founders Program and ElevateIP, developing a more comprehensive approach to trademarks and IP management.
“ElevateIP has been a game-changer,” Cooke said.
Earlier this year, Campaign Compass went on to win North Forge’s Gateway to SelectUSA Pitch Competition, earning the opportunity to represent Manitoba at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C.
For Les Verts Living, which develops indoor hydroponic growing systems, founder Kerry Green already understood how valuable IP could become.
“When we sold our previous company, it was the IP that added a whole bunch of value,” Green said.
ElevateIP helped Les Verts protect its innovation earlier and more strategically, while accessing expertise and financial support that can otherwise be difficult for an early-stage company to absorb.
For Winnipeg-based Guild Automation, which develops and integrates electronics, software and operator interfaces for industrial machinery, protecting the technology and expertise that differentiate its solutions becomes part of the commercialization strategy itself.
3 companies. 3 very different innovations. 1 important question connects them: What have we created, and how do we protect its value as we grow?
“We learned a tremendous amount from participants during the first iteration of ElevateIP,” said Cara Dveris, Director of Programs at North Forge. “We looked closely at where we could improve the experience, provide greater clarity and create a more straightforward path from understanding intellectual property to developing and implementing a strategy. The program has evolved, but the goal remains the same: helping founders in Manitoba and Saskatchewan safeguard their IP as they build their companies.”
That does not mean every startup needs a patent or the same IP strategy.
For some, it may mean protecting an invention. For others, it may mean securing a brand, protecting proprietary software, managing trade secrets, or ensuring agreements clearly establish ownership.
What matters is having that conversation before an opportunity is lost, a competitor moves first or expansion into another market makes the issue impossible to ignore.
With North Forge renewed as the ElevateIP delivery partner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, we now have another 4 years to help innovators protect what they are building and turn their ideas into strong, competitive businesses.
Because creating something worth protecting is an accomplishment.
Knowing how to protect it can help turn that innovation into a lasting business.
Eligible startups in Manitoba and Saskatchewan can apply to ElevateIP from September 9 to 23, 2026, at northforge.ca/elevateip. Founders not ready to apply can register through the portal for future opportunities, events and resources. Questions can be directed to IP@northforge.ca.
