Enactus: The Power of Entrepreneurial Action for Canada

A. Ian Aitken, M.S.C., CFA
Vice Chair, Partner, Director, Portfolio Manager

 

From May 6 to May 9, Montreal will host the Enactus Canada National Exposition. Student teams from across the country will present social ventures they have built and operate to solve real problems. The winning team will represent Canada at the Enactus World Cup in São Paulo this November.

It is a competition. But it is also something more. A reminder of what happens when people, especially young people, realize they can take action and that their actions can have real, measurable, impact.

At Pembroke, we think about what drives long-term success. We invest in businesses led by people who think like owners. They take responsibility, make decisions with imperfect information and focus on the long term. That mindset does not appear overnight. It is built through experience.

FROM LEARNING TO DOING

Enactus is built on a simple idea: you learn best by doing.

Students do not just study entrepreneurship. They practise it. They identify problems, build ventures, work with partners and measure results. They make mistakes and adapt. Along the way, something important happens. They stop waiting.

For many people, the instinct is to hold back. The problems feel too big. The path forward is unclear. It is easy to assume someone else will figure it out. Enactus flips that mindset.

Once you have launched something, created jobs or improved lives, you start to see things differently. You are no longer on the sidelines. You are in the game. That realization stays with you.

REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE

In 2025, the Enactus Saint Mary’s University team won the Canadian national championship, earning the opportunity to compete against 28 national champion teams from around the world. They were eventually crowned World Champion in Bangkok.

They did not win with a pitch deck. They won with results.

One of their projects, Square Roots, tackles two problems at once: food waste and food insecurity. The team buys surplus “imperfect” produce from local farmers and sells it at affordable prices to families who need it. In doing so, they have diverted more than one million pounds of food from landfills while improving access to fresh, healthy food for communities struggling with food scarcity.

At the same time, they created opportunity. The team trains local community managers to run parts of the operation, building skills and earning income.

Their second project, Alaagi, takes on plastic waste. The team helped to develop a biodegradable alternative to plastic wrap using seaweed-based materials. What started as a student idea now has the potential to scale into a global business.

These are not classroom exercises. They are real ventures with real impact. That is why they won.

Canada has now won the Enactus World Cup four times:

• 2008 in Singapore
• 2016 in Toronto
• 2018 in San Jose
• 2025 in Bangkok

Each year, national champion teams from around the world arrive with strong ideas, disciplined execution and measurable outcomes. Winning requires more than good intentions. It requires clarity of purpose, hard work and real results.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR CANADA

Canada does not lack talent. It does not lack ideas. What we need is more people who believe they can act on those ideas and do so at scale. Too many capable individuals underestimate what they can do. They wait for more experience, more certainty or the “right” moment. That moment rarely comes.

The challenge is not just action. It is aspiration: the belief that you can take on meaningful problems and build something that matters.

Building a more entrepreneurial Canada is not just about funding startups or writing policy. It is about shaping how people think. At its core, it is about building agency, the belief that you can act, shape outcomes and create something meaningful. It is about encouraging initiative, ownership and the confidence to try.

That is where Enactus has real impact.

It gives students a starting point. Many do not see themselves as entrepreneurs at first. That changes quickly when they are given the opportunity to build something real. Once that shift happens, it sticks.

Some go on to start companies or social ventures. Others join established organizations and bring that same entrepreneurial mindset with them. They ask different questions, move faster and take ownership.

Over time, that shift compounds. And that is what drives better outcomes.

BACKING IT UP

Pembroke’s support for Enactus reflects what we believe drives long-term success: people who take initiative, think like owners and act on opportunity. Our firm has been actively involved for many years, providing funding and serving as judges at competitions. It is a practical way to support future leaders and stay connected to new ideas.

This year’s National Exposition in Montreal is one of the highlights of the Enactus calendar. It brings together energy, creativity and purpose from across the country. More importantly, it shows what is possible when people are encouraged to take entrepreneurial action.

ACTION CHANGES THE EQUATION

The challenges we face are real. But so is our ability to respond. If there is one lesson from Enactus, it is this: action changes how people see the world.

Entrepreneurship is not just about starting companies. It is about how you think. It is about seeing opportunity, taking responsibility and moving forward even when the path is not clear.

Once people understand that they can act, everything shifts. That may be the most important investment we can make.

 

Ian Aitken is Founder and Chair of Enactus Canada, and Chair of Enactus Global. For those inspired to take action, more information on Enactus Canada can be found at www.enactus.ca.

 

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