Contest looking for greatest places in Canada

If the city tourism department wants to sell the city to the world, they have to sell it to their own citizens first, said tourism manager Paul Pepe.

Community pride is one of the department’s foundations and the Great Places in Canada contest is a perfect way to do build that pride, Pepe said.
 
The contest – sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Planners – asks people to nominate and vote for their favourite streets, public spaces and neighbourhoods across the country; it aims to recognize the work of professional planners in Canada.

So far Thunder Bay’s waterfront, Current River neighbourhood and the Sleeping Giant have been nominated.

Online contests like Great Places in Canada are a fun way to get the community engaged and draw attention to the city, said Pepe, citing CBC’s Seven Wonders of Canada as an example.

The 2007 contest drew an enormous amount of attention and $500,000 of earned media attention, which the city could never have paid for, he added.

These types of contests play a vital role in communicating to the country and the world what a great city Thunder Bay is, said Pepe.

“In the right setting, these can really help raise the profile of the community, raise the reputation of the community,” said Pepe. “They get people engaged, they create a bit of friendly competition and they get people being proud of their city.”

The city wants to see people get online and encourage friends and family to vote via Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The local nominations don’t have to win first place in order for the campaign to be a success.

Pepe said any spot in a top 10 list builds Thunder Bay’s reputations as a tourist destination, especially as one of the best outdoor cities in Canada, which is the city tourism office’s mission statement.

“At the end of the day if we’re first, second, 10^th, 20^th, it’s not really so much an issue for us,” he said. “We just want to see people get excited.”

The most popular Great Places will be featured online and short-listed for a panel of judges to make the final decision. The winners will be announced in May 2011.

Visit www.cip-icu.ca/greatplaces/en to nominate a place and for your favourite. The deadline is March 25.