Neighbours have always been the backbone of strong communities. By sharing information and offering support, neighbours are key to feeling safer and more connected.
Now, Nextdoor is making those connections even stronger. Today, the company is rolling out its most significant redesign to date, introducing new tools and a new look.
At the heart of this relaunch: Canadian innovation. Edmonton-based Samdesk is behind Nextdoor’s new ‘Alerts’ feature, keeping Canadians informed of emergencies and risks. Other new features will help communities stay connected to trusted local news and discover updates from nearby businesses they’ve come to rely on.
Christopher Doyle, Managing Director of Nextdoor Canada, has been leading this reset from Toronto. In this Q+A, he’ll dive into why the relaunch is happening now, why it’s important for neighbourhoods and building a trusted platform based on local expertise.
Why is this the best time for a relaunch?
CD: Since Nextdoor’s Canadian launch nearly six years ago, we’ve continued to see rapid growth. Millions of neighbours from across the country turn to Nextdoor to connect with their communities and find out what’s happening around them. Notably, we saw early adoption in Calgary, and now nearly one in four Calgary households is part of Nextdoor Canada.
However, we believe we can do better. This redesign represents a renewed focus on the neighbourhood, both in Canada and in the 11 countries where we operate globally.
Tell us about the relaunch.
CD: There’s a lot to cover! First, we’re excited about the new look. It’s built to surface urgent information faster and more clearly, a top priority for this redesign and relaunch.
The ‘Alerts’ feature, which is also being rolled out in the U.S. and UK, is a major update supported by Samdesk. Alerts delivers real-time crisis and community updates, including severe weather, power outages, evacuation notices and road closures. They are also hyperlocal and visualized on an interactive neighbourhood map.
We’re also proud to support local news outlets and neighbours with Nextdoor News, which offers locally curated news with smarter search and recommendations that will help people better navigate their neighbourhoods. The focus is on utility rather than virality.
Additionally, for the first time in Canada, businesses of all sizes can advertise on Nextdoor. They can engage with a high-intent, geo-targeted user base already active on the platform, all while our users benefit from information more relevant to their needs.
In certain markets, we have a beta for Neighbourhood Faves, an AI tool that leverages Nextdoor’s massive dataset of local recommendations so neighbours can make smarter decisions and uncover local gems. This will roll out in Canada at a later date.
How is the Samdesk partnership critical to the Nextdoor platform?
CD: Samdesk’s technology is impressive in scale and precision. Its signal engine ingests millions of global data points daily, delivering street-level alerts with human analyst oversight, so you’re getting the best of human and AI-driven technology. It will help Canadians navigate wildfires, floods, outages and other threats, so neighbours know exactly what’s happening, where, and when it matters most.
What’s interesting about this partnership is that Samdesk is already a global leader in AI-powered crisis detection as a B2B disruption-monitoring platform; now, their emergency tech will reach millions of people all over the world, making Samdesk’s verified, contextualized alerts a community utility for the first time.
We’re excited to scale a Canadian solution within the Nextdoor platform.
How will the new Alerts feature keep Canadians safe?
CD: Climate-related damage in Canada continues to cost billions. Hyperlocal information from Alerts strengthens neighbourhood resilience, especially in fire- and flood-prone regions. This is a real priority for many municipalities; extreme temperatures, natural disasters and other severe weather conditions are at the top of the City of Calgary’s disaster management priority list.
Alerts empower communities with factual, noise-free insights, giving users real-time information they can act on without wading through misinformation or irrelevant chatter.
Is there a need for Alerts? What are Canadians saying?
CD: Absolutely — Alerts couldn’t be more timely amid a clear information gap in local safety and emergency updates. A survey Nextdoor conducted among members of the Angus Reid Forum — which included 1,500 Canadians — confirmed that Canadians are asking for better solutions: Eighty-one per cent say staying updated on local crime or safety is very important.
When it comes to urgent updates, 86% of Canadians told us they want timely information about events in their area. Yet, only about one-third receive updates on local crime or safety at least once a week, and the numbers are even lower for natural disasters (27%), public gatherings/events (24%), infrastructure alerts (23%), local developments (23%), and missing persons (18%).
Alerts close that gap, giving neighbours reliable, hyperlocal information when it matters most.
Tell me more about Nextdoor News. Is this something Canadians need?
CD: Right now, 2.5 million Canadians live in a postal code with only one or no local news outlets. This accounts for 7% of Canadians, up from 3% a decade and a half ago. The more common situation for many Canadians is that they have some local news coverage but are in a state of constant news deprivation.
Nextdoor News curates the most important local headlines, whether it’s a new proposed bike lane, a local restaurant opening or the latest trends on housing in Canada.
It’s a natural evolution for this relaunch. Local news has always been an important part of Nextdoor, often being shared among neighbours to discuss the news of the day. Now, with Nextdoor News, relevant stories from local vetted publishers appear regularly and directly in the feed, tailored to a neighbour’s location.
Besides helping neighbours, we’re passionate about supporting local economies by helping local news partners reach their target audience. Nextdoor will surface timely and trusted reporting while driving valuable traffic back to Canadian newsrooms.
How did the Canadian team shape this relaunch?
CD: I’m proud to say that, unlike many subsidiaries of global tech companies, Nextdoor Canada hasn’t just adapted the U.S. playbook. Nextdoor Canada is made up of a team of Canadian neighbours in Canadian neighbourhoods.
From UI/UX decisions and neighbourhood mapping to content partnerships, Canadian engineers, designers, and marketers played a central role in reimagining the product, not simply adapting features to only serve a U.S. audience.
Social platforms right now have a reputation for dividing instead of connecting Canadians — how have you built a platform with trust at its centre?
CD: The future of technology lies in helping people feel more connected to where they live, and that local relevance drives national scale. I’ve always been passionate about facilitating these connections, and that passion has driven my approach for Nextdoor Canada.
Before this launch, I helped launch community-driven programs like Love Your Neighbourhood, Companion Champions, and our Thank A Neighbour and Good Neighbour spotlight, initiatives that have directly shaped how Canadians connect in a positive way on the platform.
Our Alerts feature builds on this same idea: in times of crisis, people naturally turn to those closest to them for support. By delivering timely, hyperlocal information on emergencies, Alerts enables connectedness between neighbours in situations where every moment counts.
Like I mentioned, Nextdoor News will provide trusted local stories from trusted media partners directly in their Nextdoor feed — the true magic is the local conversations these articles will drive. We’ve incorporated Conversation Starters, which our AI-generated prompts designed to drive neighbour engagement and civil discussion on news posts.
Local journalism is so important for building trust within communities, and with this important institution facing steep declines, our partnership with Canadian outlets and our Conversation Starters ensures neighbours can engage with trustworthy, local news stories right in their feed.
How can Canadians learn more about Nextdoor?
CD: We’re all about helping neighbours connect, share, and support one another. If you’re curious about what’s new, you can explore the updated Nextdoor experience today — available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or by visiting nextdoor.com.
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