Close to 40% of Canadians only know one or two of their neighbours, even though 83% consider themselves neighbourly. Nextdoor helps neighbours build connections. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 23, 2019 – Today, Nextdoor, the world’s largest private network for neighbours, announces its official launch in Canada. More than 247,000 neighbourhoods in 11 countries around the world turn to Nextdoor to build connections, stay informed and get things done in their local communities. Neighbours throughout Canada can now use Nextdoor to get the word out quickly about a lost pet, find trustworthy recommendations for everything from babysitters to snow plowing services, connect with their favourite local businesses, meet neighbours who love fishing as much as they do, and so much more.

It’s clear Canadians are keen to build deeper relationships and stronger communities with their neighbours. In fact, Canada has quickly become the fastest-growing country in Nextdoor history, with a waitlist of more than 10,000 members prior to Nextdoor’s beta launch in Canada this summer. Strong early adoption and interest has been demonstrated by several of Nextdoor’s first Canadian members including Tom Carini from Ottawa who used Nextdoor to organize weekly neighbourhood gatherings as a way to meet people nearby and make new friends after he and his wife retired.  

Similarly, Mark Scantlebury from Calgary joined Nextdoor to help his son meet other kids in their neighbourhood, and also ended up finding a youth group for his daughters to join. “It’s really all about building relationships, sharing trusted, helpful information and building offline connections,” said Scantlebury. 

The arrival of Nextdoor comes at a time when Canadians are feeling more disconnected than ever. According to research conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Nextdoor, nearly all respondents (90 per cent) agree that Canadians are welcoming toward their neighbours and 83 per cent of Canadians say they are neighbourly. However, 38 per cent of respondents know only one or two of their neighbours. Nextdoor can help people who know so few of their neighbours break the ice and form meaningful connections in the real world. 

Sarah Friar, CEO, Nextdoor, said: “At Nextdoor, we believe that change starts with each of us opening our front doors and building deeper connections with the people nearest to us – our neighbours. Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for being some of the kindest and most welcoming people in the world and we are thrilled to bring Nextdoor to Canada, our northern neighbour. The Canadian way of intrinsic neighbourliness is the Nextdoor way; and I could not be more excited to see how Canadians use Nextdoor to deepen relationships and real world interactions, connect with local organizations and businesses, and build thriving local communities.” 

As part of Nextdoor’s investment in Canada, the company plans to open its first Canadian office in Toronto later this fall. The regional office will serve as home to the company’s first internationally based team of engineers. As one of the most multicultural cities in the world and home to some of the brightest minds in the technology industry, Toronto is the perfect place for Nextdoor to put down roots, attract top talent and expand its global presence. 

“I am thrilled that Nextdoor has chosen to locate its new engineering office in Toronto to take advantage of our skilled and diverse talent pool,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “Toronto, which is often described as ‘a city of neighbourhoods’ is the perfect location for Nextdoor – our city embraces community-building and civic connection. I welcome Nextdoor to the Toronto Region and support its mission to help Canadians build stronger communities.” 

Nextdoor also announces today the appointment of Christopher Doyle as Country Manager for Canada, and their first employee in Canada. Doyle joined the team earlier this month and will be based in the Toronto office.

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Nextdoor team in Canada, where so many Canadians have already joined their local Nextdoor community. It’s proof that Canadians are craving new ways to find trusted, useful, and relevant local information, form local relationships in the real world, and build safer, happier places to call home,” said Doyle.

To help guide their expansion into Toronto, Nextdoor partnered with Toronto Global, a team of experienced business advisors assisting global businesses.

The Global Power of Local

Everything at Nextdoor is built on the power of local. It’s what brings people to Nextdoor and makes it an essential part of neighbours’ lives. Built on trust and privacy, Nextdoor is made up of real people at real addresses, by requiring members to use their real names and verifying members’ addresses. This creates the transparency and accountability that is core to building communities and encourages neighbours to be their better selves online. 

Nextdoor’s Public Services Platform

Thousands of local public services around the world already use Nextdoor to share critical information with neighbours on a daily basis, and when disasters strike. Nextdoor is proud to announce Canada as the first country to launch with the Public Services Platform. Nextdoor’s free Public Services Platform enables provincial and city public services to build strong ties with the neighbourhoods they serve, improving service quality and civic engagement. Public Service partners including the Canadian Red Cross and the City of Edmonton have already signed on to help Canadians stay informed and prepared. “Connecting with citizens and connecting citizens with one another are key priorities for the City of Edmonton. We are very excited to join Nextdoor as a Public Service partner, providing us with an additional way to connect with citizens on what matters to them and to share critical safety and emergency messaging at the neighbourhood level,” said Chantile Shannon, Director of Neighbourhood Services for the City of Edmonton. 

Local Business Pages

Nextdoor provides local businesses with a unique platform where they can participate in neighbourhood conversations, build trusted relationships, and meet neighbours’ everyday needs. There are already more than 40 million recommendations for local businesses on Nextdoor, and the company is thrilled to offer Local Business Pages in Canada to help local businesses build their reputation, attract new customers, drive incremental sales and improve customer loyalty. 

How to use Nextdoor

Neighbours in Canada can download the app through iOS and Android devices, or visit nextdoor.ca and enter their address to locate their neighbourhood. Nextdoor is available in Canada in both French and English languages. If a Nextdoor neighbourhood has already started in their area, they can immediately verify and sign up. If a member is registered using a verified address in an area where a neighbourhood has not yet been established, they can easily become the Founding Member and welcome Nextdoor into their neighbourhood.

Unlike other social media platforms, Nextdoor restricts its communication to people who live close to one another. Neighbourhood posts are seen only by other members of a given neighbourhood, and only users who are able to verify their identities and home addresses can sign up. All Nextdoor websites are password-protected. Neighbourhood content and member information cannot be found on Google or any other search engine.

For more information about Nextdoor in Canada, please visit nextdoor.ca

 

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About Nextdoor, Inc.

Nextdoor is the world’s largest private network for neighbours. Nextdoor enables truly local conversations that empower neighbours to build stronger and safer communities. Building connections in the real world is a universal human need. That truth, and the reality that neighbourhoods are one of the most important and useful communities in our lives, have been guiding principles for Nextdoor since the start. Today, neighbours rely on Nextdoor in more than 247,000 neighbourhoods around the world in the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Canada, with many more to come. Nextdoor is a privately-held company based in San Francisco with backing from prominent investors including Benchmark Capital, Bond, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Riverwood Capital, Axel Springer, and others. For additional information and images visit our newsroom

About the Ipsos Reid study 

This Ipsos Reid poll was conducted between August 22 – 26, 2019, on behalf of Nextdoor. For this survey, a sample of 1,055 Canadians aged 18 and over were interviewed, including oversamples to provide a more in-depth read on results in the Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Census Metropolitan Areas. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. 

 

Contact information:

Erica McCabe, Nextdoor

Email: emccabe@nextdoor.com

Phone: 415-936-9018

 

Meghan Giffin, North Strategic

Email: meghan.giffin@northstrategic.com

Phone: 416-617-4500