The Canada Awards for Excellence program involves meeting and exceeding rigorous standards and requirements, demonstration of continual improvement, measurement of progress, and verification. To receive the Award, an organization must demonstrate outstanding performance in the appropriate award category: Excellence, Innovation and Wellness, Healthy Workplace and Mental Health at Work.

The recipients are role models of excellence in the areas of leadership, governance, strategy, planning, customer experience, employee engagement, innovation and wellness. The organizations come from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, from coast-to-coast. Each has a unique story to tell of their excellence journey, but one thing they all have in common is a focus on continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence.