The Maker Movement as we know it began in 2005 with the publication of MAKE: Magazine by Dale Dougherty. Modern makers typically enjoy technological pursuits such as 3D printing, electronics, robotics, laser cutting, CNC milling, woodworking, metalworking, in addition to conventional fashion design and arts and crafts. Despite having an initial lag behind the Americans and the Europeans, Canadians are now diving into the Maker Movement at an accelerating pace. As a result, Canadian makerspaces have been sprouting up across the country at great speed.
Makerspaces are community-based organizations with shared tools and equipment for members to create new things or to fix existing things. In some instances, they also serve as co-working spaces, training venues and collaborative “playgrounds”. Currently, Canada has 36 public (non-commercial and non-academic) makerspaces. For your interest, Makerwiz has created a graph indicating their numbers and distribution across the country at the top of this post.
For a comprehensive list of Canadian makerspaces with hyperlinks and their distribution across the country, visit our Makerspaces page for more information. If you are interested in making things but don’t know where to start, now is the perfect time to join a local makerspace!