Fact Sheet

The Play Exchange, Canada’s Active Living Challenge

News Release: Government of Canada launches The Play Exchange, Canada’s Active Living Challenge

The Play Exchange is the Public Health Agency of Canada’s flagship healthy living and chronic disease prevention initiative.

Working in collaboration with Canadian Tire, LIFT Philanthropy Partners, and with support from the CBC, the goal of The Play Exchange is three-fold:

1. engage Canadians in an unprecedented national dialogue around preventing chronic diseases and the importance of healthy active lifestyles;
2. launch a high profile competition to seek out leading edge healthy living ideas from a range of groups including not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises, businesses, schools, students and families, to offer a common space for the public and private sector to connect and align their investments in an important public health issue;
3. ensure value for federal funding in active and healthy living, with measures and processes focused on achieving tangible success and the best possible return on investment.

Harnessing our country’s innovative spirit, Canadians from coast to coast to coast are invited to submit their ideas to lead healthier active lifestyles. Submissions will be posted online (www.playexchange.ca) for others to view, providing opportunities for feedback and collaboration.

The Play Exchange will select Canadian judges, who will review the submissions and pick the top ideas. Business and Community leaders, known as Thought Leaders, will work with the “innovators” to help develop their ideas and project proposals.

Canadians from across the country will have the chance to vote for what they think is the best idea. Finalists will share their plans to a panel of judges and the winner will be announced during a CBC special program in January 2015. Up to $1 million will support the implementation of the winning project.

More and more private sector organizations are taking on social and/or community activities that are of importance to Canadians. By working across sectors, the Government of Canada can leverage expertise and resources in working towards the common shared goal of producing better health outcomes for Canadians. To learn more about The Play Exchange, please visit The Play Exchange website