How TELUS STORYHIVE Transformed Over Five Years — Building a Thriving Canadian Creator Community

When I look back on the last five years leading TELUS Local Content, TELUS STORYHIVE, TELUS originals and maCommunauté, our most recent addition to the team, I’m struck by how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown alongside the creators and filmmakers who make our programs meaningful. What was once a portfolio under intense regulatory review has become a meeting place for underrepresented voices, a thriving training ecosystem and a launchpad for stories that resonate across Canada and beyond.

This journey wasn’t easy. It took courage, creativity and resilience from our team, from our partners and from the creators who believed in what our programs could become. As we look forward to the next five years, I want to take a moment to reflect on the lessons, milestones and community that made this transformation possible with a look back on the evolution of TELUS STORYHIVE.

Facing Skepticism in a Time of Crisis

In March 2020, I joined the STORYHIVE team. Within weeks, COVID-19 hit. By November 2020, I had stepped into the Director role, tasked with guiding the team through one of the most disruptive moments in recent history.

The timing wasn’t easy. As we began reshaping the STORYHIVE brand, not everyone agreed with the direction. Some in the industry — and even some on our own team — worried that by lowering grant sizes and diversifying formats, we were leaving documentary filmmakers behind or reducing opportunities for underrepresented voices.

But our intent was never to leave anyone behind; it was to broaden access. By meeting creators where they were, we could open the door to more voices and create a funnel that would lead some toward documentary filmmaking in time. It may have looked risky from the outside, but there was strategy and purpose behind every choice.

That resilience became the foundation for everything that followed, especially as the pandemic reshaped how we worked, created and connected.

A Bigger Vision for the Community Channel

From the very start, our vision was bigger than fixing compliance gaps or tweaking grant structures. We wanted to redefine what a community channel could be for us and the next generation of Canadians.

Traditional community TV — the kind our parents and grandparents remember — was no longer enough in a world where digital platforms dominate and the lines between creators and broadcasters are blurred. We wanted to meet Canadians where they already were — on YouTube, podcasts and live streams — and bring those voices into the Canadian broadcasting system.

But it wasn’t just about relevance. We wanted to ensure that the next evolution of the community channel was a true reflection of Canada itself, where everyone feels represented and heard, and where underrepresented voices are uplifted alongside new formats of content creation. Inclusivity had to be at the heart of innovation.

That vision helped us not only withstand skepticism but use it as fuel to push forward. And as the pandemic deepened, that commitment to innovation became more important than ever.

Pushing Through the Pandemic

The next two years tested us more than we could have imagined. Working remotely, separated from one another, we could have stalled. Instead, we accelerated.

We overhauled STORYHIVE’s core structure, piloted new formats, and embraced digital-first outreach and content deliveries. We shifted to virtual training, created online Ask Us Anything sessions and hosted virtual info sessions to stay connected with communities.

Rather than slowing us down, COVID-19 became the catalyst that pushed us to innovate faster and embed resiliency into everything we built. Out of that crucible came one of the biggest shifts in STORYHIVE’s history: the expansion from a single program into a suite of pathways for creators.

From One Program to Many Offerings

In 2020, STORYHIVE was centred on a single program: Editions. From there, we built off this foundation and expanded into four thriving content creation pipelines:

• STORYHIVE Editions (refreshed): Redesigned with smaller grants and bonus content to broaden access and deliver more hours of content.

• STORYHIVE Voices (2020 pilot, launched during COVID-19): Giving digital-first and user-generated creators their first foothold in the Canadian broadcasting system.

• STORYHIVE On Location (2021, evolved from Summer Crew): Now a year-round live streaming program capturing hyper-local community stories.

• STORYHIVE Video Podcast (2024): Bridging podcast culture with community broadcasting.

These programs reflected a philosophy that’s guided us since 2020: meet creators where they are, give them tools to succeed and create equitable pathways into Canadian media.

But launching new pipelines was only part of the work. For them to succeed, we had to ensure that creators had the training and mentorship to thrive, which became the true backbone of our transformation.

Training & Mentorship as the Foundation

Programs are only as strong as the support behind them. That’s why we invested in building brand-new training modules for every new program, tailored to creators’ specific needs.

By shifting to a virtual-first model, we made sure that no matter where a participant lived, they had access to high-quality training and mentorship. From interview skills for documentarians to audience-building for podcasters, every session was built with purpose.

This investment created real capacity in Canadian communities. Creators who started with no prior experience left STORYHIVE programs with stronger craft, a professional network and the confidence to pursue their next project and for some, long-term careers in storytelling.

The results speak for themselves: Over 1,000 creators have gone through STORYHIVE programs, supported by more than 53,800 hours of training and 13,200 hours of mentorship. Every program has now produced projects that have been nominated for awards or selected by festivals — proof that these pipelines are generating quality local content of national relevance within just a few years of launch.

And these results didn’t just resonate internally — they began to draw attention across the industry.

Putting Creators First

During an industry trip to Toronto, I had a meeting with a leader in the digital creator economy. As I explained that STORYHIVE was funding user-generated creators — and that they got to keep their intellectual property — his disbelief was immediate.

What surprised him wasn’t just the funding, but that a regulated broadcaster was inviting YouTube-style creators into the Canadian broadcasting system while letting them retain their rights. For us, this was natural: IP retention is mandated for access programming, and extending that commitment to digital creators was a way of building fairness and trust.

It made sense. With over 50% of Canadians now watching YouTube on their big screens at home, supporting digital creators isn’t fringe; it’s essential. That validation reminded us that what we were building mattered, not just for compliance, but for creators, audiences and the cultural fabric of Canada.

A Future Built on Gratitude & Growth

But none of this would have been possible without the creators who trusted us, the TELUS Local Content team who passionately brought these programs to life and the communities who continue to share their stories. Thank you. 

Looking back, I’m proud of what we’ve built together:

• From one program to four, each designed to broaden access and lower barriers.

• From ad-hoc workshops to a comprehensive, virtual-first training and mentorship ecosystem.

• From a compliance-risk portfolio to one of Canada’s most efficient, innovative, and inclusive community content ecosystems.

• From isolated programs to award-nominated and festival-selected pipelines across the board.

As we look ahead to the next five years, I’m excited about continuing to shape the next generation of what a community channel can be in Canada — one that isn’t your parents’ or grandparents’ model, but something far more inclusive, digital-first and reflective of today’s audiences. With your voices, your stories and your creativity, TELUS Local Content will keep evolving as a space where underrepresented voices are not only heard but also celebrated.

Here’s to the next chapter.