Eight Canadian Municipalities Win National Awards of Excellence

Fredericton, NB (May 11, 2021) – Eight Canadian municipalities have won national awards of excellence from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA).  The awards were presented in the areas of innovation, environment and professional development during a virtual Awards of Excellence Ceremony.

Winning efforts included a “Report a Concern” website portal, corporate peer support program, an effort to work with business to make personal protective equipment for use during COVID-19, a natural asset inventory, an effort to target single-use plastics styrofoam packaging recycling, two succession planning programs, and an employee leadership development program.

“On behalf of the CAMA board of directors, I am pleased to recognize the excellence being showcased by municipal government in the areas of innovation, environment and professional development,” said Jake Rudolph, outgoing president of CAMA and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Nanaimo, BC.  “It is exciting to see this kind of leadership taking place across Canada at the local government level.”

The following municipalities and projects were recognized, in three categories, based on their population size:

2021 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation

• Municipality of Meaford, ON, Under 20,000 Population Category, “Report a Concern” Website Portal
• County of Lennox & Addington, ON, 20,001 to 100,000 Population Category, “It’s OK to not be OK” – Lennox & Addington’s Corporate Peer Program
• City of Surrey, BC, Over 100,000 Population Category, Surrey Makes PPE

2021 CAMA Environment Award

• Town of Okotoks, AB, 20,001 to 100,000 Population Category, Natural Asset Inventory
• City of Markham, ON, Over 100,000 Population Category, Best of the Best 2020-2023 – Markham Targets Single-Use Plastics Styrofoam Packaging Recycling

2021 CAMA Professional Development Award

• Municipality of Hastings Highlands, ON, Under 20,000 Population Category, Succession Planning in Hastings Highlands
• City of Moose Jaw, SK, 20,001 to 100,000 Population Category, Succession Planning Project
• Regional Municipality of York and York Regional Police, Over 100,000 Population Category, YorkLEADS Development Program

“There were 35 submissions from across the country entered in to this year’s CAMA Awards of Excellence program,” said Marc Melanson, Chair for the 2021 CAMA Awards Jury, CAMA representative for New Brunswick and City Manager for the City of Dieppe, NB. “The scope of projects, from municipalities both large and small, was impressive and I extend my congratulation to the winners, as well as those who took the time to enter a submission.”

To find out more about each award, and to see a video about each winning project, visit www.camacam.ca/awards and look for the award recipients link.