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Atlantic Canada’s leading entrepreneurs, organizations and programs were celebrated at an event hosted by Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management on May 20. East-coast entrepreneurs congregated at the Faculty’s Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship for the Startup Canada Atlantic Awards—the fourth in a series of five semi-final events taking place across Canada in May.

These events are leading up to the gala celebration on June 12 at the CN Tower in Toronto, where the winners of the first national Startup Canada Awards will be recognized. Startup Canada launched the award program as part of its second anniversary celebrations.

The Halifax event featured the Atlantic finalists, and welcomed local entrepreneurs, government, media and industry leaders for a special ceremony, a fireside chat and a Wolf Blass wine reception.

Three of the eleven awards recipients included Dr. Mary Kilfoil, Clarity.fm and Gerry Pond.

Dalhousie Faculty of Management professor Mary Kilfoil was recognized as Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year for Atlantic Canada. Dr. Kilfoil recently introduced her Starting Lean class, which emphasizes experiential learning and brings together students from across faculties to create innovative startups. During the fireside chat, Dr. Kilfoil emphasized that we need to provide our student entrepreneurs with the environment and resources they need and then “get out of the way!”

Accepting the Entrepreneurial Effect Award on behalf of Clarity.fm was high school serial entrepreneur Raphael Paulin-Daigle. Raphael has already started two companies and will be organizing CoinCity 2014 on June 6. CoinCity aims to educate people about Bitcoin and encourage them to use it. Raphael has expressed interest in pursuing his Bachelor of Management here at Dalhousie.

Speaking last, but certainly not least, New Brunswick venture capitalist Gerry Pond, co-founder of Mariner Partners and East Valley Ventures, was awarded the Wolf Blass Lifetime Achievement Award for Atlantic Canada. In his remarks, Pond emphasized the importance of regional solidarity to develop an entrepreneurial culture and create havens for innovation.

“Our semi-final events have each been a resounding success, driving regional engagement and creating an important dialogue around the needs of entrepreneurs and the benefits they bring to their communities,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO of Startup Canada. “I applaud all our regional semi-finalists for demonstrating the leadership and entrepreneurial spirit we need to create a prosperous future for all of Canada’s Startup Communities.

Learn more about Startup Canada and the award winners here in Atlantic Canada at the Startup Canada Awards website.