Region named ‘Intelligent Community’ of the year

Lisha Van Nieuwenhove

Durham Region announced Dec. 3 that it is celebrating a global achievement. It’s been named the 2025 Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).

Durham came out on top against six other outstanding finalists from around the world: Assaí, Paraná, Brazil; Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye; Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa, USA; Hilliard, Ohio, USA; Kingston, Ontario; and Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain.

According to a news release from the region, “This honour reflects the incredible collaboration of our community partners,” including the eight local municipalities: Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby, along with 1855 Accelerator, Brilliant Catalyst, Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Trent University Durham GTA, and local boards of trade and chambers of commerce.

The ICF evaluates communities on six pillars of its Community Accelerator Strategy: broadband, sustainability, workforce development, innovation, digital inclusion and engagement.

Regional chair John Henry said of the award, “I am thrilled that Durham Region has been named Intelligent Community of the Year. Our region is leading the way in economic development, innovation and community excellence. It is an honour to receive international recognition of all the work being done by our local governments, post-secondary institutions and business ecosystem partners as we continue to work to remain a community of choice to live, work and do business.”

The ICF is a global network of communities and partners in the business and nonprofit sectors that provides economic development, training, certification, membership and consulting services. For more, visit intelligentcommunity.org