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Canada is witnessing an unprecedented level of entrepreneurial activity. Evidence is everywhere: we have never seen so many new business startups, and business schools find their entrepreneurial courses are over-subscribed. We even have a hit reality television show where entrepreneurs pitch their startup ideas to venture capitalists in front of a national audience.

This entrepreneurial spirit has carried over to the social sector, where Canada is fast becoming a hotbed of "social entrepreneurship." A social entrepreneur is an innovator who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to catalyze systemic social change through new ideas, products, services, methodologies and changes in attitude and policy.

In business, we measure performance most critically in terms of profit, whereas social entrepreneurs gauge their accomplishment in terms of the impact they have on society. Social entrepreneurs - like all entrepreneurs - are relentless in their pursuit of new ideas. And social entrepreneurs, like all entrepreneurs, need to find a sustainable method of funding their activities. Some social entrepreneurs use for-profit models and others choose non-profit structures, depending on what is appropriate to their particular challenges. In all cases, though, they are motivated by addressing an unmet social need.

Social entrepreneurs are popping up across the country with innovative approaches to issues in health, education, the environment, poverty, homelessness, arts and culture, urban development, at-risk youth, and many other fields. While many of these ventures are still young, they are already showing solid results and are transforming the social landscape.

Bullfrog Power is an example of social entrepreneurship addressing the issue of climate change. Bullfrog provides renewable energy to more than 4,000 residential customers in Ontario and Alberta. It has succeeded despite charging a premium for the service. Bullfrog describes itself as a "double bottom line" company that maintains a dual focus on environmental responsibility and profitability.

Artscape is a non-profit enterprise that builds creative communities and expands knowledge about the dynamics of creative places. Artscape works with developers to create affordable living and working spaces for artists that enable cultural districts to grow and thrive. Artscape engages in property development and management, master planning, creation and maintenance of arts districts, and supporting activities such as research and consulting.

JUMP Math is an educational program founded by award-winning Canadian playwright and mathematician John Mighton, who believes that all children can be led to think mathematically. The program, which is expanding across Canada, offers teachers and parents educational materials and training to help them reach students that would otherwise be dismissed as not able to do math.

Forest Ethics is a B.C.-based organization that runs programs in Canada, the United States and Chile to protect endangered forests and wildlife. It has used innovative programs to create consumer demand for wood and paper products that are produced according to ecologically responsible principles. Using the power of the market to drive behaviour, Forest Ethics has encouraged forest companies to change their methods to meet that demand.

There are now hundreds of similar social ventures in Canada that are bringing similar levels of innovation, passion, and business discipline to social issues across the country. As they grow and develop, it has become clear that there is a need for social funders, governments and corporations to assess how they can best support and encourage this valuable phenomenon.

Recognizing that it was time to bring a focus to these issues and opportunities, a group of leaders from across Canada have come together to launch the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Summit, which will take place at the MaRS Centre in Toronto on Dec. 4, 2007.

The Summit will bring together more than 250 social entrepreneurs, funders, and other supporters from Canada's private, public and non-profit sectors to meet, share experiences and extend the networks of social entrepreneurs. The prestigious Schwab Foundation of Davos fame will award its Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the first time to a Canadian at the Summit dinner. The winner will join other Schwab honourees at its global summit in Zurich in January and trade ideas with international social entrepreneurs like Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

The summit represents a symbolic watershed for the sector and its coming of age in Canada.

Government leaders, corporate leaders, and funders are realizing that this new model of social change is uniquely suited to mobilizing talent, markets, and capital to bring innovation to some of our most challenging and intractable social issues.

David Pecaut is a Senior Partner with The Boston Consulting Group and Chair of the Toronto City Summit Alliance