Five small businesses in Ontario can win $20,000 each by sharing one workplace safety improvement – deadline October 16
Ontario small businesses now have until October 16, 2026, to enter the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's (WSIB) newly launched Small Business Safety Awards. The awards are open to Ontario businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Five prizes of $20,000 each are on offer for independently owned and operated employers who can show how they have strengthened workplace safety over the past year.
Applications ask businesses to describe one concrete safety challenge they faced and what they did to address it – whether a practical fix, a creative solution, or a new approach to an ongoing hazard.
For OHS professionals who advise small business clients or work within them, the awards offer a rare financial incentive tied directly to documenting and sharing safety improvements.
"We know there are a lot of great success stories out there about small businesses that have raised the bar when it comes to workplace health and safety," said Rod Cook, vice president of workplace health and safety services at the WSIB. "We want to hear them and we want to share them to inspire others."
Applications are open at wsib.ca/safetyawards from September 14 to October 16, 2026.
What past winners have done
The WSIB has recognised Ontario's small business safety leaders through annual awards programs since 2017.
Previous award winners have shown how targeted safety improvements can be highly effective at small businesses in Ontario.
In 2025, DESO Construction Limited of Caledonia addressed accidental opioid exposure on job sites. The company deployed naloxone kits and built staff acceptance through focused team discussions.
Also in 2025, Ottawa Home Care Associates focused on safe transportation for home care workers. The program prioritized winter driving protocols and fatigue management, developed from direct frontline staff input.
In 2024, Invasive Phragmites Control Centre in Langton introduced a heat stress prevention program after a heat-related employee incident.
For safety advisers, these examples offer models that require no large capital outlay – only documentation and management commitment.
Why do small businesses face greater workplace safety risks in Ontario?
Small employers carry a disproportionate share of Ontario's workplace harm.
A 2017 Ontario government review found that small businesses with fewer than 50 workers represented around 52 percent of workplace fatalities and 31 percent of lost-time injury claims. That was despite employing roughly 29 percent of the provincial workforce at the time.
The Small Business Safety Awards are designed, in part, to bring out ideas that other small employers across Ontario can adopt.
For safety professionals who work alongside small business clients, understanding the safety obligations that apply under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act is a starting point. The WSIB Small Business Safety Awards are intended to move beyond compliance into culture.
How to apply for the WSIB Small Business Safety Awards
Eligible businesses must be independently owned and operated, registered with the WSIB, and have fewer than 50 employees.
The submission should describe the safety challenge and the steps taken to address it. Straightforward documentation of a real-world improvement is sufficient – no formal safety management system is required.
Five winners will each receive $20,000, which the WSIB encourages recipients to reinvest in their health and safety programs.
With the October 16 deadline approaching, Ontario's small businesses have a narrow window to turn a year's worth of safety work into a meaningful reinvestment in their programs.
Full eligibility details and the application form for the WSIB Small Business Safety Awards are available at wsib.ca/safetyawards.
