Great Places in Canada presents its final slate of nominees for 2015

OTTAWA, Sept. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - The Great Places in Canada contest accepted its final nomination on September 3^rd from Thunder Bay, Ontario topping off the list of 29 entries for 2015. (Prince Arthur's Landing – pictured)

The jury has been formed and is currently reviewing all 29 nominations. A list of finalists will be announced on October 20^th, 2015. 

Meanwhile, the voting continues with fervour! There is one week left to vote for your favourite place before the polls close on September 24^th, 2015 at 11:59pm EDT. The winner of People's Choice in each category (Street, Neighbourhood and Public Space), will then be determined. The voting results have been visible all summer, but were concealed last week to heighten the anticipation.

Here are the nominations for 2015:

Public Space		Neighbourhood
AA Macdonald Memorial Gardens	Georgetown, PEI	Arbour Lake Residents Association	Calgary, AB
Abbey Centre	Blackfalds, AB	Cobble Beach Golf Resort Community	Kemble, ON
Blackfriars Bridge	London, ON	Cookstown	Cookstown, ON
Blockhouse Island	Brockville, ON	Historic Downtown Amherstburg	Amherstburg, ON
Bon Accord Memorial Rose Garden	Bon Accord, AB	Quartier Petit Champlain	Quebec, QC
Conception Bay South T'Railway	Conception Bay South, NL	Schmidtville	Halifax, NS
Grizzly Plaza	Revelstoke, BC	West End	Vancouver, BC
Labatt Memorial Park	London, ON
Lakeview Park and Marina	Town of Lakeshore, ON
Lethbridge River Valley	Lethbridge, AB	Street
Meadowlily Woods	London, ON	Broadway	Orangeville, ON
Mississauga Celebration Square	Mississauga, ON	Little Gaetz	Red Deer, AB
Pemberton Downtown Community Barn	Pemberton, BC	Lower Johnson Street - LoJo	Victoria, BC
Prince Arthur's Landing at Marina Park	Thunder Bay, ON	Main Street Osoyoos	Osoyoos, BC
Stuart Park	Kelowna, BC	Pictou Lobster Carnival	Pictou, NS
Witless Bay's Lower Pond Beach	Witless Bay, NL	Wolfville's Main Street	Wolfville, NS

The nominations are nicely distributed across the categories. Seven Neighbourhoods, six Streets, and in the always popular Public Space category there are 16 nominees. The quality of the submissions this year are better than ever. Each nomination gives insight into the character and pride of the place and its people. 

After the finalists are announced in October, the Grand Prize winners and People's Choice winners will be declared November 4^th, 2015, in conjunction with World Town Planning Day.

The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), created the Great Places in Canada contest to engage Canadians in sharing their favourite places and to recognize the work accomplished by professional planners to make these places possible. 

There are two ways to win:

1. Grand Prize Winner in each category is determined by a jury of professional planners, based on a variety of planning merits.  A plaque honouring the winning place is presented, plus the nominator wins a great prize of approximately $650 value.
2. People's Choice goes to the place in each category with the most online votes.  Each is presented with a certificate, and the nominator wins a prize of approximately $200 value.

Prizes are being provided by in part by the contest's generous sponsor, Roots Canada. Details of the prizes will be available soon on the Great Places in Canada website.

A big thank you also goes out to Communities in Bloom and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for their support in this contest. 

Visit greatplacesincanada.ca to vote!
Follow @GreatPlacesCA on Twitter
Like the Great Places in Canada page on Facebook

Great Places in Canada is an annual contest hosted by CIP and it is now in its fifth year. The contest seeks to increase Canadians' awareness of the planning profession and the work of professional planners in Canada. Visit www.greatplacesincanada.ca for more information.

The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) is the national voice of Canada's planning profession. Since 1919, CIP has been dedicated to the advancement of responsible planning throughout Canada. CIP has a membership of over 7,800 professional planners, and collaborates with provincial planning institutes and associations to promote professional standards, training and certification as well as best practices in planning across Canada. Visit www.cip-icu.ca.

Roots Canada - Founded in 1973, Roots is Canada's leading lifestyle brand known for its quality leather goods, athletic apparel, accessories, and natural fiber clothing. In addition to its state-of-the-art factory and design centre in Toronto, Roots has 125 stores in Canada and the United States along with 100 retail locations in Asia. The core values that have always governed Roots are based on a commitment to active, healthy living, respect for the environment, community support and a passion for Canada. For more, visit www.roots.com.

Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community involvement and the challenge of a national program, with focus on the enhancement of green spaces. The pride, sense of community and feeling of accomplishment generated through participation are visible in communities across Canada. For more information about Communities in Bloom, visit www.communitiesinbloom.ca.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. With over 2,000 members, FCM represents the interests of municipalities on policy and program matters that fall within federal jurisdiction. Members include Canada's largest cities, small urban and rural communities, and 19 provincial and territorial municipal associations. Visit www.fcm.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Institute of Planners

Image with caption: "Prince Arthur's Landing, Thunderbay, Ontario (CNW Group/Canadian Institute of Planners)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150917_C8311_PHOTO_EN_499695.jpg

Media contact: Kelly McTavish, [email protected], 613-237-7526 x507, [phone]