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Canada’s Top Growing Women-Led Companies

Terms & Conditions

Your organization is applying to be considered for a Report on Business: Canada’s Top Growing Women-Led Companies Award (the “Award”), an entrepreneurial award offered by The Globe and Mail, Canada’s leading media organization (collectively, the “Award Sponsor”).

The Award recognizes eligible organizations for their efforts in entrepreneurial achievement based on three-year revenue growth. This Company Survey is intended to help determine the overall financial success of your organization, and will ask a number of questions about the financial, and other applicable information about your organization.

By applying for consideration for an Award, eligible candidates automatically agree to accept and abide by these Terms and Conditions. All decisions of the Award Sponsor with respect to any aspect of this Award, including without limitation the eligibility of entries, are final and binding on all entrants in all matters as they relate to this Award.

Award Enrolment Period. The Award enrolment period begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) on March 21, 2025 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Nov 7, 2025 (the “Award Enrolment Period”). The Award Enrolment Period deadline has been extended to November 14, 2025.

Eligibility. To be eligible to participate in the Award your organization must meet the criteria outlined at tgam.ca/TopGrowingWomenLed. If your organization is eligible to participate, then it is an “Eligible Business”. For greater certainty, an organization is not eligible if it is an Award Sponsor, or its affiliates (including parent, sister and subsidiary companies).

How to Enter. To apply for an Award, please visit the Award website at tgam.ca/TopGrowingWomenLed.(the “Award Entry Website”) during the Award Entry Period and do the following:

Company Full Application Survey.(“Submission”). In the Submission, your organization will be asked to outline details related to the financial status of your Company. Please answer each of the categories in the application. Each question must be answered in order for the Submission to be considered eligible. The Submission must be made online, using the online application process.

LIMIT: one (1) Submission per Eligible Business. All eligible Submissions received within the entire Award Period will be eligible for a chance to earn a spot on the ranking. Winners will be determined by three-year revenue growth, based on verification by Award Sponsor of financial documentation provided by eligible businesses. Eligible companies will also be eligible to win various special achievement awards based on the company’s size, type of company, and region of headquarters, which shall be at the Award Sponsor’s sole discretion. Your Submission in no way obligates the Award Sponsor to award any certification or award to you. Odds of winning the Awards depend on the number and quality of eligible Submissions received. The Award Sponsor reserve the right to judge void any entry that the Award Sponsors, in their sole and absolute discretion, determine do not meet these Terms and Conditions. Once submitted, you may not modify your Submission.

Warranties, Representations and Licences. All materials submitted become the property of the Award Sponsor and will not be returned to the Eligible Businesses. You hereby represent and warrant that the information you have provided in the Application Questionnaire is true, complete and correct to the best of your knowledge.

Identity of Eligible Business. Upon request by the Award Sponsor, each entrant must provide the Award Sponsor with proof of their identity and qualification as an Eligible Business. Award Sponsor may disqualify any Submission where such proof is not provided upon request. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized holder of the e-mail account, as assigned by the internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

Proof of Receipt. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry and Submission and responses will be the computer servers of the Award Sponsor’s designated contractor. Proof of transmission (screenshots or captures, etc.) does not constitute proof of receipt.

Conduct. By applying for an Award, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms and Conditions and agree to abide and be bound by them and all decisions of the Award Sponsor, which shall be final and binding, without right of appeal, in all matters relating to this Award. The Award Sponsor reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any entrant that either itself or its employee is found to be: (a) violating these Terms and Conditions; (b) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Award; (c) acting in an unsportsmanlike, disruptive or other manner that the Award Sponsor deem unacceptable; or (d) attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Award. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AWARD OR TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS AWARD MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND/OR CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD ANY SUCH ATTEMPT BE MADE, AWARD SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AND TO BAN OR DISQUALIFY AN ENTRANT FROM THIS AND FUTURE AWARDS

Scoring. Submissions will be scored using an annual revenue growth methodology by Award Sponsor. There is no judging process. A three-year revenue growth score will be generated for each Eligible Business that completes the Full Application Survey and submits supporting revenue documentation. The score will be the final determinant for the winners. There is no right of appeal. For additional details regarding scoring, please visit tgam.ca/TopGrowingWomenLed.

Confirmation of Finalists and Winners. The Award Sponsor will determine the finalists from among the eligible Submissions of all Eligible Businesses. Winners will be informed of their status by e-mail before December 31, 2025 , under strict embargo until March 20, 2026. Winners will be announced by The Globe and Mail and Report on Business in March 2026.

After November 7, 2025, the Award Sponsor, may attempt to contact the representative from each potential finalist by email. To be confirmed as a potential finalist, the potential finalist representative must be available to be profiled in Report on Business magazine, The Globe and Mail print newspaper and/or globeandmail.com.

Award Sponsors may, at their sole discretion, profile one or more of the confirmed winners, finalists and their revenue growth in print, video, digital, electronic, mobile and social media formats of the Award Sponsor. All confirmed finalists hereby consent to the profiling and publication of Eligible Business in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, and will use reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Award Sponsor in the preparation of such profiles and publicity by the Award Sponsor.

Potential finalists determined by the Award Sponsor to be ineligible, for reasons including but not limited to failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions, will be disqualified from the Award. The Award Sponsor reserve the right to award the potential nominee spot to the Submission with the next highest score in accordance with the criteria in their sole discretion.

Winner Announcement. Winners will be announced by The Globe and Mail and Report on Business magazine online in March 2026 and in print in the April 2026 issue.

Privacy. By applying for an Award, you hereby consent to the Award Sponsor collecting and using your personal information and to receiving commercial electronic messages from the Award Sponsor for the purpose of administering this Award and receiving marketing and promotional materials from Award Sponsor. Personal information will be used in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

Confidentiality. "Confidential Information" means any financial, business information, technical data, or know-how disclosed either directly or indirectly by one party, its affiliates or its representatives to the other party that is clearly marked or indicated to be confidential. Subject to the exceptions set out below, the Award Sponsor shall keep confidential the Eligible Business’s Confidential Information and shall not use any of the Eligible Business’s Confidential Information except for the purpose of administering the Award and creating a personalized health report for your Eligible Business.

Your Submission data will be aggregated into anonymous reports to be used for independent research, reporting and analytical purpose by the Award Sponsor. The only financial information gathered during the application or revenue verification process that is subject to publication by the Award Sponsor is the company’s: (a) three-year growth rate; and (b) revenue range for the most recent fiscal year (e.g. $10M - $25M) (“Published Company Information”). All Published Company Information shall not be considered Confidential Information.

The Award Sponsor shall take reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information, and avoid any unauthorized disclosure or use of the Confidential Information. Such reasonable measures shall be no less than the Award Sponsor applies to its own confidential information. The Award Sponsor shall immediately notify the Eligible Business of any unauthorized disclosure or use of Confidential Information of which the Award Sponsor become aware. The foregoing obligations shall not apply to Confidential Information that: (i) is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of disclosure by the Award Sponsor in violation of this Agreement; (ii) was known to the Award Sponsor prior to its disclosure to the Award Sponsor by the Eligible Business; (iii) becomes available to the Award Sponsor’s editorial department from any source other than an employee of the Award Sponsor who received such Confidential Information pursuant to this Agreement; (iv) was independently acquired or developed by the Award Sponsor without reference to the Confidential Information and without violating any of its obligations hereunder; (v) the Eligible Business has approved in writing for release; or (vi) the Award Sponsor are required to disclose by any applicable law or regulation or competent judicial, governmental or other authority or in accordance with the requirements of any applicable stock exchange, provided that the Award Sponsor, to the extent practical, gives the Eligible Business prompt written notice of such requirement prior to such disclosure.

Release of Liability / Consent to Publicity. By applying for an Award, the Eligible Business is deemed to: (i) confirm compliance with these Terms and Conditions; (ii) consent to the use of the Eligible Business’s business, Published Company Information, logos, trademarks, senior management staff names, city, comments, photographs, video, sobriquet, and/or other likenesses and all other indicia of personality, for publicity, general news, entertainment, advertising and informational purposes by each Award Sponsor and its parent, affiliated subsidiary and related companies, as well as the appearance at events, meetings and conferences by senior management staff without any additional compensation and as required by the Award Sponsor if your organization is chosen to receive an Award, without further notice or compensation; and (iii) release each Award Sponsor, its affiliates (including, without limitation, any parent, sister and subsidiary companies), suppliers of materials or services related to the Award and other parties in any way involved in the development or administration of this Award (including advertising and promotional agencies, public relations agencies), and all of their respective employees, directors, officers, shareholders, agents, partners, licensees, successors and assigns (collectively the "Releasees") from and against any and all manner of action, causes of action, suits, debts, covenants, contracts, claims, liabilities, demand or damages (including legal fees and expenses), of any nature or kind, arising out of, or in connection with your participation or attempted participation in the Award and the awarding or use of a prize, including as set out below in the Limitation of Liability section.

Limitation of Liability. Releasees do not assume any responsibility and each entrant releases Releasees from any and all claims, actions, damages, loss, injury, costs, demands and liabilities of whatever nature or kind arising in connection with the Award including, without limitation, the administration of the Award the selection and confirmation of winners. Without limiting the generality of the forgoing, Releasees are not responsible for (i) the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry information; (ii) late, lost, stolen, illegible, damaged, misdirected, mutilated, garbled or incomplete entries or entries that are altered or otherwise irregular, mechanically reproduced, submitted using robotic, automated, programmed, or through illicit means, included in a bulk-drop off, or contain false information, or do not conform with or satisfy any or all of the conditions of the Employer Terms and Conditions, as determined by each Award Sponsor, in its sole and absolute discretion; (iii) any failure of, errors, or problems with websites associated with the Award, including any website feature, howsoever caused, (iv) traffic congestion on the Internet and any postal delays, strikes or failures, (v) injury or damage to an entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in the Award; (vi) any website functionality lost due to not having cookies enabled; (vii) any errors, omissions, incorrect or inaccurate information in any Award-related materials howsoever caused; (viii) the security or privacy of information transmitted via computer networks or for breaches of privacy due to interference by third party computer "hackers" or otherwise.

General

Award Sponsor, in their sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right to withdraw, modify or terminate the Award, amend the Award at any time, and reject any and all applications in accordance with the Award Process, without individual notice, and for any reason. Award Sponsor will not incur any liability whatsoever by reason of such withdrawal, rejection, acceptance or modification.

All intellectual property, including but not limited to trade-marks, trade names, logos, designs, promotional materials, Published Company Information, web pages, source codes, algorithms, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned by each Award Sponsor and/or its affiliates. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owner is strictly prohibited.

This Award is void where prohibited by law and is subject to all applicable laws and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, any dispute arising from this Award will be determined according to the laws of the Province of Ontario, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located in Toronto, Ontario and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

This Award will be run in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, Website Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and any other applicable agreements. Visit tgam.ca/TopGrowingWomenLed for timelines, and all other process related matters, and FAQs, subject to amendment by the Award Sponsor.

   

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the 2025 ranking, a company must:

Complete the application process

  • Step one: Complete the full application survey by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.
  • Step two: Submit financial statements to verify revenue claims.

Meet ownership requirements

Be Canadian

Eligible companies must be headquartered in Canada with significant operations in Canada.

Eligible companies must have Canadian ownership, defined as follows:

  1. If the company is privately held by individuals, the majority ownership must be held by Canadians
  2. If the company is privately held by a mix of individuals and investment funds or groups (e.g. pension or venture-capital funds or angel investor syndicates), a substantial percentage of shares must be held by Canadian residents or Canadian-based funds.
  3. If the company is publicly traded and widely held, its eligibility will be at the discretion of Report on Business.

Be independent and for-profit

Eligible companies must not be a division or subsidiary of another company, unless that company is a holding company only.

Eligible companies must operate at an arm’s length from any related companies

Eligible companies must not be a franchisee or the member of a network (e.g. a co-operative)

Eligible companies must not be a charitable organization, non-governmental organization, not-for-profit organization, etc.

Be an operating company, or a holding company that has a substantial degree of management control over its holdings

Eligible companies must not be entities whose primary business is investing in other established companies

Have been in continuous operation and in the same line of business throughout the revenue measurement period. (For the 2025 ranking, that means between 2020 through July 2024)

Have minimum operating revenue of $2 million in its most recent fiscal year and $200,000 in the same period three years prior. For example, in 2025, an eligible company would have 2023 revenue of at least $2 million and 2020 revenue of at least $200,000.

Be operating in a good standing. We reserve the right to disqualify any businesses undergoing criminal or regulatory investigation, or any other public compliant, that might discredit the Canada's Top Growing Women-Led Companies or The Globe and Mail, at our sole discretion.

Ranking methodology

Report on Business magazine’s Canada's Top Growing Women-Led Companies Program ranks companies on the basis of three-year percentage growth of annual operating revenue. The formula for 2025 is:

(2023 revenue – 2020 revenue) / 2020 revenue * 100 = % revenue growth

The above formula assumes that:

Each revenue period is the calculation reflects 12 months of continuous operations

The revenue periods are three years (36 months) apart;

The revenue figures are in the same currency;

The company’s base-year (e.g. 2020) revenue exceed or have been adjusted to meet the minimum eligibility requirement of $200,000.

To ensure a level playing field for participating companies, reported revenues are subject to adjustment at the discretion of ROB magazine. For example, if a reported fiscal year is not 12 months in length or the two fiscal years used in the calculation are not three years apart, then an equitable measurement might be achieved by any or all of:

  • Pro-rating the revenue of a reported period;
  • Including revenue from months adjacent to the reporting period;
  • Time-shifting of the periods used in the final calculation.

Canadian currency is the default for determining revenue growth. Where a company posts in foreign currency in both years, the growth rate will be determined using the figures supplied, without any adjustment. Where the company reports in Canadian dollars in only one of the two years measured, the revenue for the other year will be converted to Canadian dollars using the average Bank of Canada exchange rate for the period.

Revenues for each period must be drawn from the same eligible company. Adjustments may be required of companies involved in mergers, acquisitions and the like, particularly when those transactions took place in or around the base year of the calculation. (For instance, if a shell company acquires an operating company in the base year, then the reported revenues for the base year should be those of the operating company.)

If a company reports base-year revenue below the minimum for eligibility ($200,000) its growth rate will be calculated using the minimum. For instance, a company with actual revenue of $75,000 in 2020 and $10 million in 2023 would have an unadjusted growth rate of 13,233%. Post-adjustment its growth rate would be 4,900%. The post-adjustment calculation would determine the company’s ranking.

Company revenue must be reported according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For most companies, the eligible revenue equals the “gross revenue” at the top of their income statement (P&L). However, the “real” revenue of many companies is their net revenue, e.g. after the returns of costs of goods sold. Agencies, resellers and publishers are among the types of business to which such adjustments might apply.

Report on Business magazine reserves the right to disqualify applicant companies believed to be ineligible and/or engaged in illegal or disreputable activity, at any time and at the sole discretion of Report on Business magazine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any cost to participate?

No. There is no cost to participate in the application, nor to earn a spot on the ranking.

What financial details provided by my company during the application process will be published by Report on Business magazine?

No. To protect the interests of privately held companies that apply for the ranking, the only financial information gathered during the application or revenue verification process that is subject to publication is the company’s:

  • Three-year growth rate, and
  • Revenue range for the most recent fiscal years (e.g. $10M - $25M)

Report on Business magazine will not publish any revenue information for the base year of the calculation, nor any information related to the profitability of the company, if that company is privately held. Publicly traded companies may be treated in largely the same way, although the public availability of most of this financial information precludes the need for confidentiality.

Should my company report its gross revenue?

Generally, yes, but please see the above ranking methodology for more detail.

My company reports in US dollars. Should I convert the revenue figures to Canadian dollars?

No. If US dollars were reported in both years, no adjustments will be made. If US dollars were reported in only one of the two years, then magazine researchers will make the necessary adjustments, as per the above ranking methodology.

What kind of revenue verification is required?

Companies (whether privately held or publicly traded) are asked to submit their incomes statements (P&L) for the measured periods. Balance sheets and statements of cash flows are not required. Audited statements are preferred but are not required. However, statements must be final and officially recognized by the company. ROB magazine researchers may require your company’s chief executive and/or finance head to sign an attestation form confirming the veracity of the statements.

What are the minimum and maximum revenue requirements for eligibility?

There is no maximum. The minimum is $2 million in the most recent fiscal year used in the three-year growth calculation, and $200,000 for the base year (i.e. the period three years prior). Due to research and publishing schedules the 2025 ranking will include the financial years of 2023 and 2020.

What are the minimum and maximum age requirements for eligibility?

There is no maximum. As for the minimum, companies must have been in operation long enough to show three years of growth: a base year followed, generally, by three more years (for four years in total). However, Report on Business will consider for inclusion, on a case-by-case basis, companies that complete their fourth year in business within three months of the posted application deadline of Nov. 8, 2024. For 2025, that means companies must have been founded and generating operating revenue before Feb. 1, 2021 in order to be eligible.

When and where will the ranking be published?

The ranking and additional coverage of the 2025 Canada's Top Growing Women-Led Companies program will be published in March 2025 online on the ROB magazine webpage and in print in the April issue of Report on Business magazine.

What are the terms and conditions?

You can read them here