Ce Commentaire IRPP soutient que la voie vers une innovation et une productivité accrue passe par les communautés rurales, dont il est grand temps que les gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux reconnaissent le potentiel. Son auteur, Gordon More, directeur du Southeast Techhub (SETH) d’Estevan en Saskatchewan, y explique comment les régions rurales peuvent devenir des moteurs d’innovation si les gouvernements y soutiennent les modèles de conception locale et s’ils collaborent avec les leaders locaux selon leurs propres termes. L’auteur exhorte les gouvernements à aller au-delà des projets pilotes et à fournir plutôt un soutien prolongé et flexible qui fonctionne en accord avec les connaissances et l’expertise locales.
Canada stands at a critical economic crossroads. From the urgent transition to net-zero emissions, to the pursuit of secure supply chains in critical minerals and energy technologies, to addressing a national productivity crisis, the opportunities for transformation are vast — but remain unevenly distributed.
Much of the country’s innovation policy infrastructure remains concentrated in major urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
However, many of the individuals with the practical experience, land-based knowledge, and incentive to drive innovation are based in rural Canada. Moreover, rural communities are on the front lines of the very challenges that Canada must urgently confront.
Consider the following: whatever the device you are using to read this, trace the flow of electricity powering it back to its source. Whether that electricity was generated from fossil fuels or clean sources, it most likely originated in a rural community.
Effective theories of change management underscore the importance of providing real and ongoing support to those most directly impacted by societal transitions. Without such support, large-scale changes are unlikely to succeed.
Rural communities are foundational to Canada’s economic capacity, yet their innovation potential remains significantly underutilized.
The Southeast Techhub (SETH), located in Southeast Saskatchewan, is demonstrating how that can change. By combining grassroots resilience with a clear alignment to forward-looking policy objectives, SETH is offering a replicable model for rural innovation that can inform a truly pan-Canadian strategy — provided that federal and provincial governments are willing to engage rural leaders on their terms.
In Southeast Saskatchewan, innovation has long been a necessity rather than a luxury. When equipment breaks down or challenges arise, there is no quick trip to a nearby store to find a replacement. The closest urban centre, Regina, is a two-hour drive away — and even it lacks many of the services and amenities typical of a major metropolitan area.
As a result, residents in this region have developed a deeply ingrained culture of self-reliance. You learn to repair what is broken; you learn to build what is missing. You find creative, workable solutions using the resources at hand.
In this context, innovation is not labelled as such. It is not a buzzword or a strategic pillar. It is understood simply as “getting it done.”
The Southeast Techhub did not emerge from a government directive. It was born of necessity by a community navigating economic transition.
When the federal government announced the phaseout of coal-fired power in Saskatchewan, the city of Estevan and the broader Southeast Saskatchewan region were confronted with an uncertain economic future. Rather than retreat in the face of this disruption, the region mobilized.
As former Mayor Roy Ludwig stated, “With environmental restraints on our coal industry, we were being forced to pivot to other areas that will create sustainable, well-paying jobs. One of these areas is tech. We must move, embrace, and accept this change in a positive posture, or we will lose opportunities and get left behind.”
Southeast Saskatchewan is home to significant figures in the global innovation ecosystem. These include Dr. Eric Grimson, former Chancellor and current Academic Chancellor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Jeff Sandquist, former Vice President at Microsoft and Twitter and now Head of Product for Developer Productivity and Generative AI at Walmart.
Despite this high-calibre talent, launching SETH required more than vision — it required funding. At the time, there were no dedicated programs to support rural innovation hubs in Canada. The turning point came when the Government of Saskatchewan introduced the provincial Coal Transition Fund, designed to assist communities directly affected by the retirement of coal power. Estevan successfully leveraged this fund as seed capital for SETH’s formation.
This was not a case of rebranding an existing economic development office. The creation of SETH represented a genuine coalition, bringing together educators, municipal leaders, city councillors, local business owners and concerned residents. Their shared objective: to build a diversified regional economy rooted in technology and innovation.
What distinguishes SETH is its bottom-up foundation. It did not arise from institutional mandates, but rather from the community itself, reflecting the values, needs and entrepreneurial spirit of the region.
Today, SETH operates with a diversified funding model that includes public support, such as multi-year contributions from SaskPower, as well as growing financial commitments from industry partners, member organizations and philanthropic donors.
The Southeast Techhub is grounded in a clear and purposeful mission:
This mission is operationalized through three core pillars:
The innovation gap between rural and urban Canada, and the need to bridge this gap as a national policy priority, has been the primary motivation behind the devising of these three pillars, and the mission itself, from inception.
At SETH’s opening ceremony in May 2022, students from St. Mary’s Elementary School participated in a pitch competition, showcasing imaginative technology solutions. One standout project came from some Grade 8 students. The young women had designed a system consisting of soil moisture sensors placed in household plant pots. These sensors were connected to Amazon Alexa, enabling the virtual assistant to verbally notify users when their plants required watering.
Despite their ingenuity, these students had no path to advance their skills. At the time, in the entire stretch of Saskatchewan south of the Trans-Canada Highway — from Alberta to the Manitoba border — there was not a single accessible institution where youth or adults could study computer science.
This highlights a glaring contradiction. In the spring of 2023, the Bank of Canada identified a national productivity crisis, underscoring the need for a more skilled workforce and increased innovation. Yet current education and innovation policy frameworks continue to overlook rural students, many of whom are eager and capable contributors to Canada’s future economy. Involving rural youth in comprehensive innovation and technology education will play a critical role in solving Canada’s productivity crisis. To put it bluntly: Canada cannot solve its productivity crisis without equitably involving rural youth in comprehensive innovation and technology education.
This is why SETH’s mission explicitly includes a commitment to technology-based education. It represents not just a regional initiative, but a broader call to action: to provide rural youth with access to the tools and opportunities they need to participate in Canada’s innovation economy.
SETH’s involvement in economic development stems from the local identity of Estevan as “the Energy City.” With deep expertise in energy production, Estevan is well positioned to play a leadership role in Canada’s energy transition.
Despite this, Canada does not currently have a dedicated national Centre for Energy Development. This raises an urgent question: how can the country successfully manage its energy transition without robust engagement from communities like those found in Southeast Saskatchewan?
Saskatchewan has limited hydroelectric capacity and little feasible potential for further development. A 2010 study by Bigland-Pritchard and Prebble identified a potential addition of approximately 125 MW of hydroelectric capacity by 2020, but most remaining sites are in remote areas and are cost-prohibitive due to infrastructure and transmission challenges.
In contrast, Southeast Saskatchewan possesses considerable renewable energy assets. It is among the sunniest regions in Canada, with solar potential approaching 1,400 kilowatt hours per installed kilowatt, according to a study in Ecological Economics. It also sits atop some of the hottest geothermal formations in the country and enjoys strong, sustained winds, making it ideal for wind power development.
In addition, the region’s geological profile is well suited for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and emerging technologies such as underground CO₂ “batteries,” for storing excess electricity. Harsh environmental conditions — ranging from winter temperatures of -40°C to summer highs of +40°C — make Southeast Saskatchewan an ideal real-world test bed for applied research and product development related to energy resilience and adaptation.
If innovations can be developed and proven under these extreme conditions, they can be scaled to other parts of Canada and exported to international markets facing similar energy and climate challenges.
Despite this potential, efforts by the community — through both SETH and the Estevan Chamber of Commerce — to engage the federal government have met with limited response. It often appears that Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia receive the majority of funding, despite enjoying access to low-cost hydro power and fewer transitional risks. Rather than imposing solutions on communities like Estevan, the federal government should co-create strategies with those most affected by national energy policies. In doing so, the government could turn the “disrupted” into the “disruptors,” unlocking local solutions to national problems.
The final pillar, startup incubation, addresses another critical gap: the lack of accessible resources for rural entrepreneurs. If a rural innovator wants to commercialize an idea, develop a business plan or seek mentorship, their only option is often to travel to a distant urban centre.
This matters deeply. Rural Canadians have already demonstrated their capacity to create companies and innovations of national significance — from the founders of SkipTheDishes to world-renowned researchers in nuclear fusion and cancer therapies. How many more transformative ideas are sitting dormant in rural communities — unrealized not for lack of potential, but for lack of infrastructure and support?
Based on over two decades of leadership in successful innovation initiatives, I define innovation as “the disruption of a process to make it better.” At the heart of this definition is the concept of disruption — a term that, while often considered a buzzword, is pivotal to understanding how meaningful change occurs. When brought into relation with another commonly used but equally important term, resilience, a deeper truth about innovation emerges.
Disruption inevitably introduces instability into established systems. It creates uncertainty and discomfort, not only within the processes being altered but also among the people who operate those systems. Human beings have a natural tendency to resist such change.
As a result, individuals who lead change frequently encounter opposition and criticism. Successfully driving innovation under these conditions requires more than technical knowledge — it demands personal resilience.
This is where rural Canada stands out. As discussed earlier, rural communities are already rich in innovative practices born of necessity. But equally important — and perhaps underrecognized — is the vast reservoir of resilience embedded within rural culture.
Dr. Eric Grimson, Chancellor for Academic Advancement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a native of Estevan, Saskatchewan, captured this sentiment during a 2023 visit to Southeast Saskatchewan. He remarked:
The reason, he explained, is resilience.
This insight speaks volumes. While innovation policy discussions in Canada often focus on infrastructure, investment and intellectual property, they tend to overlook the human dimensions of innovation — particularly the importance of resilient leadership in periods of transition.
As Canada confronts complex national and global challenges, there is a compelling case for incorporating rural resilience into the very DNA of our innovation frameworks.
Why are so many rural communities resisting the energy transition? Beyond the fact that these decisions are often made in distant urban centres and then imposed on rural regions, it is also because the framing itself is flawed — typically presented as a binary: fossil fuels or clean energy.
Instead, true innovators embrace the “Genius of the AND,” the ability to pursue multiple, sometimes contradictory, objectives at once.
One example I often share is my own experience owning an electric vehicle (EV) for the past four years while living in a coal town in the heart of Saskatchewan’s oil patch. It is an illustrative example for people who subscribe to the “OR” mindset.
I like to point out to both sides of the divide that my EV is made from approximately 30 per cent oil and gas products and 70 per cent mining products. It drives on a road made of oil, and when I plug it into the grid to charge, I am employing a coal worker.
SETH recognizes this complexity. Southeast Saskatchewan is ground zero for the coexistence of legacy and emerging energy systems. It is home to the world’s only operational coal-fired power plant with a CCS facility, a major hub for oil and gas, and the site of expanding geothermal, wind and solar developments. Soon, it will also host two GE Hitachi Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs).
One project led by SETH that embodies this integration is the coal-to-graphite initiative, known as Prairie Graphite, developed in partnership with George Washington University. This initiative is reimagining lignite coal as a feedstock for battery-grade graphite — positioning Estevan to become one of only two graphite producers in North America.
This innovation is not just economic — it is strategic. In 2024, China produced approximately 78 per cent of the world’s natural graphite, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and over 90 per cent of spherical graphite — the form required for lithium-ion batteries. This gives China considerable control over global battery supply chains. The Prairie Graphite project disrupts this dependency and contributes to Canada’s national and energy security.
But the “OR” mindset argues that coal has no future in a clean energy economy. By embracing the “AND,” SETH is helping to turn a perceived liability into a national asset.
Another initiative demonstrating this principle is SETH’s Certified Clean Hydrogen Power Project, developed in partnership with a local First Nation and Hydrogen Principia. This project leverages existing CCS infrastructure to generate low-emission hydrogen.
It utilizes proven gasification processes that produce two liquid streams, hydrogen and CO₂. Because the CO₂ is already in liquid form, there is no need for post-combustion carbon capture; the CO₂ can be directly transported to Whitecap Resources for permanent geological storage.
As a result, the hydrogen produced meets or exceeds the clean fuel standards set by both the U.S. GREET model and Canada’s Carbon Intensity Score for clean hydrogen.
Importantly, because the technology is well established and commercially available, the project’s Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) at Front-End Loading 2 is estimated at 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
SETH is now pursuing additional partnerships to convert this clean hydrogen into electricity on-site, using existing fuel cell technologies. Once again, this initiative shows how the “AND” approach can generate clean, dispatchable power in a region without access to hydropower.
In April 2025, the Southeast Techhub hosted the inaugural Critical Resources, Innovation, and Technology (CRIT) Conference in Estevan. The event focused on Canada’s future in critical minerals and featured speakers from Arizona Lithium, the Saskatchewan Research Council, and applied researchers exploring coal fly ash extraction and rare earth elements.
One of the conference highlights was a presentation by Zach Maurer of Arizona Lithium. His team is applying oil and gas drilling technologies to access lithium-rich subsurface brines. They are already producing small quantities of lithium carbonate and are nearing the stage where they could provide Canada with a new domestic source of lithium — an essential input for battery manufacturing and energy storage systems.
Following the conference, CRIT initiated Saskatchewan’s first battery cluster session, held on April 30, led by the Battery Metals Association of Canada. The session convened representatives from the federal and provincial government, industry and non-governmental organizations to assess current assets and identify the critical gaps that need to be addressed to strengthen Saskatchewan’s battery supply chain ecosystem.
In this way, CRIT was more than just a conference; it served as a demonstration that small centres can lead national conversations. With more than 150 attendees from across the country, the event underscored Southeast Saskatchewan’s potential not only as a resource extraction region, but as a future hub for value-added processing and technology-driven innovation.
Each June, rural schools celebrate the achievements of the students graduating and heading off to pursue post-secondary education in technology — almost always in urban centres. According to Statistics Canada, more than 60 per cent of rural youth leave their home communities to access technology-focused education. The underlying message is clear: “Your future is not here.”
SETH is working to change that narrative.
Through its partnership with Southeast College, SETH co-developed the Computer Science Training Through Projects initiative. This program enables students to apply their skills by developing real-world solutions for local industries. A prime example is the AI-powered conference app, designed and built by students, that was successfully deployed during SETH’s ICED Rural Conference in the fall of 2024.
In 2025, SETH formally launched R.I.S.E., establishing a dedicated support structure for rural tech startups that includes infrastructure, mentorship and access to funding.
The 2023 rural pitch competition awarded $22,250 in startup funding to two Grade 12 students who designed an automated irrigation system, a practical solution rooted in agricultural innovation. Notably, the program already has three years of secured funding, ensuring sustained support for the next generation of rural innovators.
Innovation is not solely a technical endeavour, it is also psychological. For innovation to be adopted and sustained, people must trust it. SETH actively builds that trust by engaging the public in accessible, community-driven initiatives, including:
These are not superficial initiatives or marketing gimmicks. Rather, they serve as meaningful platforms for education, empowerment, and informed dialogue. By making technology visible, hands-on, and locally relevant, SETH fosters both literacy and confidence in innovation, key prerequisites for long-term community adoption and support.
In April, the University of Regina, Southeast College and SETH signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create the Innovation Centre for Energy Development (ICED). The MOU outlines a five-year commitment to collaborate on opportunities in energy generation and storage, the SMR supply chain, battery supply chains and advanced manufacturing. The partnership will also focus on attracting investment, supporting startups and building a workforce equipped with hands-on, industry-relevant skills.
ICED can be seen as Canada’s National Energy Innovation Centre, amalgamating all the above-mentioned forms of energy generation and storage. But ICED needs policy that provides the resources to make it happen.
Despite its demonstrated success, SETH continues to face significant structural challenges:
SETH has established collaborative relationships with key federal partners, including PrairiesCan, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the National Research Council, and Investment Canada. However, meaningful progress will require more than co-operation — it demands stronger alignment, policy flexibility and recognition that a win in Southeast Saskatchewan reverberates across the entire country.
Rural innovation is not a franchise model; it cannot simply be copied and pasted. It can, however, be replicated, if tailored to local assets and realities. What is required is not a rigid blueprint, but an adaptable approach grounded in:
Regional Development Agencies and Community Futures organizations are well positioned to serve as delivery partners. SETH has demonstrated proof of concept; the imperative now is to scale it.
Federal and provincial governments can strengthen rural innovation ecosystems by:
Rural-led, shovel-ready projects are already underway across the country. What remains missing is the political and financial will to unlock their full potential.
Southeast Saskatchewan is not waiting for Ottawa. It is actively building its own future. But both federal and provincial governments have a choice: to observe from the sidelines or to become true partners in this transformation.
Rural Canada is not a peripheral actor in the innovation economy — it is central to it. These regions possess the natural resources, the cultural resilience and the community-driven motivation to lead. With the right support, rural Canada also has the roadmap.
This commentary was written by Gordon More. The manuscript was edited by Justin Yule and proofread by Zofia Laubitz. Editorial co-ordination was by Étienne Tremblay, production was by Chantal Létourneau and art direction was by Anne Tremblay.
Gordon More, Executive Director of the Southeast Techhub in Estevan, Saskatchewan
To cite this document:
Moore, G. (2025). Big Innovation in Small Places: Southeast Saskatchewan Demonstrates How Rural Innovators Can Lead Canada’s Economic Transformation. Institute for Research on Public Policy.
