We raise the next generation of builders, coders, and quiet mathematicians.
Hands-on robotics programs for Ontario schools — equipment grants, competition stipends, and mentorship, at no cost to students.
A small foundation with a very Canadian workshop.
We believe access to competitive robotics shouldn't depend on a postal code. So we ship kits, cover entry fees, train the coaches, and stay until it works.
CanSTEAM was founded by educators and engineers who spent decades sitting next to kids hunched over blue plastic totes and metal motors. We know what lights the fuse, and we know what lets it go out.
What we fund is not a classroom. It is a 10pm failure, a 6am code rewrite, and the specific moment a team realizes they actually solved something — together.
Four levers we pull to get robotics into schools.
None of them are glamorous. All of them matter.
- 01
VEX platform
We standardize on VEX IQ and V5RC kits so teams travel, compete, and share code across Ontario without having to translate their hardware.
217registered teams - 02
Event volunteers
Referees, judges, queue managers, field resetters — every tournament runs on a crew of adults who show up early, stay late, and don't need to be paid to care.
100%events volunteer-run - 03
Provincial tournaments
We coordinate regional qualifiers and the Ontario Provincial Championship that feed into VEX Worlds, giving Ontario students a stage to occupy.
52events per season - 04
STEAM grants
Free starter kits, covered entry fees, travel support to championships — directed to schools and community orgs that would not otherwise show up.
$148kawarded in 2025
The last twelve months, by the numbers.
Pulled from the 2024–2025 season. The uneven ones are on purpose.
Source: CanSTEAM registry, season ending April 2025.
Twelve seasons before this one — on the record at vexontario.ca
The work moves forward with people. Grab one end of the rope.
We need coaches, sponsors, judges, parent volunteers, and schools ready to try something they've never tried.