OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -01/25/12)- With less than a week to go before nominations close, there are a few cities that have not yet fielded a candidate for the Great Places in Canada contest.
"We have great competition from across the country and a lot of strong contenders, but a few major centres remain unrepresented," said Andrea Gabor, President of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
There are 57 nominations so far that have collectively received over 18,000 votes.
"We have candidates from places like Fernie, Lake Koocanusa, Creighton, Warkworth, Lac-Saint-Jean, and Dayspring, and some of them are beating the pants off the larger centres for the honour of being named one of Canada's greatest places."
Still absent from the list are nominations from Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec, Hamilton, Oshawa, Victoria, Windsor, Saskatoon, Sherbrooke and St. John's. "We think residents in these centres, urged on by their local media, will exhibit a sudden burst of civic pride in the final days," said Gabor.
Nominations close on January 31, 2012, and voting ends February 29, 2012. The judges will then decide on the semi-finalists in early April and announce the winners at the end of April 2012. People's Choice awards will also be made in each of the three categories.
Below is the list of all the places that are currently in the running. Is your community represented?
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Great Streets Kakabeka Falls Ducks Unlimited Trail
Provincial Park, "Miner's Marsh",
Kakabeka Falls, ON Kentville, NS
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Queen Street, Niagara- Parc Regional Educatif Maligne Canyon Hike,
on-the-Lake, ON Bois de Belle-Riviere, Jasper, AB
Mirabel, QC
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Icefields Parkway, Lake Koocanusa, BC Rainbow Stage Theatre in
between Banff and Kildonan Park, Winnipeg,
Jasper, AB MB
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High Street, Grand Falls Lost Lagoon in Stanley The Lunenburg Heritage
Windsor, NL Park, Vancouver, BC Society Bandstand,
Lunenburg, NS
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Yonge Street, Toronto, Heartland Forest, Algonquin Provincial
ON Niagara Falls, ON Park, Ontario
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Main Street, Summerland, Mississauga Celebration Great Neighbourhoods
BC Square, Mississauga, ON
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Niagara River Parkway, Village de Sainte- Saint-Boniface,
Niagara-on-the-Lake to Jeanne-d'Arc, Lac-Saint- Winnipeg, MB
Fort Erie, ON Jean, QC
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Osborne Street, Miller Point Peace Park, Victoria Park
Winnipeg, MB Dayspring (near Neighbourhood,
Bridgewater), NS Kitchener, ON
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Victoria Row (on Wascana Park, Regina, SK Plateau Mont-Royal,
Richmond St.), Montreal, QC
Charlottetown, PEI
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Main Street, Warkworth, Bowen Park, Nanaimo, BC Parkdale, Toronto, ON
ON
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Portage and Main, Assiniboine Forest, City of Fernie, Fernie,
Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg, MB BC
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Great Public Spaces The Dog Park, Kingston, Town of Churchill,
ON Churchill, MB
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Botanical Beach, near City Market, Saint John, LaHave River, near
Port Renfrew, BC NB Bridgewater, NS
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The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen St. Victor Petroglyphs, Old Montreal, Montreal,
Classical Chinese St. Victor, SK QC
Garden, Vancouver, BC
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Hecla Provincial Park, Minden Boardwalk, Town of Creighton,
near Riverton, MB Minden, ON Creighton, SK
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Nathan Phillips Square, Richmond Olympic Oval, Beauty Bay, Kenora, ON
Toronto, ON Richmond, BC
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West Montrose Covered Bronte Creek Provincial Roncesvalles Village,
Bridge, Waterloo, ON Park, Oakville, ON Toronto, ON
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Komoka Provincial Park, Brewer Park Oval, London Road
London, ON Ottawa, ON Neighbourhood,
Lethbridge, AB
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Old Port, Montreal, QC Liberty Street Linear Woodfield, London, ON
Park, Toronto, ON
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Central Library, Cultus Lake Park, Cultus Town of Gravelbourg,
Vancouver, BC Lake, BC Gravelbourg, SK
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Go to www.GreatPlacesInCanada.com where you can nominate, vote, and follow the competition.
If your nomination wins, you're eligible for some great prizes which include Via Rail vouchers, gift cards from Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Roots Canada, and a write up in WestJet's inflight up! magazine.
You can also follow us on Twitter @GreatPlacesCA and like us on Facebook Great Places in Canada for the latest updates.
For further information, visit www.GreatPlacesInCanada.com.
About the Canadian Institute of Planners
CIP was established in 1919 and has a membership of 7,000 professional planners. The Institute sets a Code of Professional Practice and national standards for training, certification and best practices. Please visit http://www.cip-icu.ca/.
About Our Valued Sponsors
VIA Rail Canada, as the national rail passenger service, provides efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation to Canadian travellers, and service in both official languages. Every week VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500 kilometers route network. VIA transports over four million passengers annually. Please visit www.viarail.ca.
Mountain Equipment Co-op is Canada's leading retailer of clothing, gear, and services for outdoor activities such as cycling, hiking, and paddlesports. MEC has more than three million members throughout Canada, whom it serves through 15 destination stores in six provinces as well as mec.ca. Widely recognized for its commitment to sustainability, MEC is a member of 1% For The Planet and supports various outdoor recreation and environmental initiatives through its community grants program.
Established in 1973, Roots is Canada's leading lifestyle brand known around the world for its quality leather goods, active athletic wear, yoga wear, accessories and home furnishings. Having started with a tiny store in Toronto, Roots now has more than 120 retail locations in Canada and the United States, and more than 40 in Asia. In addition, Roots has a state-of-the-art leather goods factory and design centre in Toronto.
WestJet's inflight up! magazine is jammed with inspiring travel features, celebrity interviews and entertaining profiles on well-known chefs but never neglects to uncover the little-known gems that make an ordinary trip -spectacular. Every month up! gets tucked in a seatback pocket on every WestJet flight that reaches 1.4 million passengers.
The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) is a Toronto-based not for profit organization with a national and international reach. Through our work we seek to create a world of thriving, sustainable, harmonious and engaged urban regions. The CUI is an innovator engaged in research, networking, leadership development, planning and policy solutions to improve urban regions in Canada and around the world.
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