This prestigious awards program has recognized 150 outstanding Canadian Immigrants, whose stories and achievements have inspired Canadians over the past six years. The program is presented by Canadian Immigrant magazine and is proudly supported by title and founding sponsor RBC Royal Bank and associate sponsor Chevrolet.

“Newcomers need role models, and who better to be inspiring examples than someone who has walked in their shoes?” says Margaret Jetelina, editor, Canadian Immigrant magazine. “This awards program is about finding immigrants who have achieved great things on a professional or personal level, and can share their inspiring stories with the thousands of newcomers who are just starting their journey.”

Past winners have included former Governors General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean, national broadcaster Ian Hanomansing, NBA MVP Steve Nash and entrepreneur Robert Herjavec. Many more community volunteers, artists, entrepreneurs and politicians have also been honoured.

This national people’s choice award encourages Canadians to first nominate and then vote directly for individuals who have made a difference since their arrival in Canada. More than 40,000 votes from across Canada were cast in the 2014 awards program.

“There are many reasons why individuals choose to come to Canada, but you only need one reason to nominate someone: because they made a difference to you” said Christine Shisler, director of cultural markets, RBC. “Past winners have diverse backgrounds and enriched Canada socially, culturally and economically. That’s why this year, RBC is also pleased to introduce the RBC Entrepreneur Award, to further recognize one of the Top 25 winners who has shown excellence in business.”

A nominee can be someone who has immigrated to Canada and has since contributed to the diversity and success of this country and/or its people. Achievements can be either professional or personal. Nominees must hold landed immigrant (Permanent Resident) or citizen status in Canada, and must reside in Canada.

“The awards program recognizes people who have shared their passions for Canada as they earned significant achievements and realized their dreams,” said John Roth, vice president for Chevrolet in Canada. “The Chevrolet Ingenuity Award will further recognize the efforts of a truly inspirational individual.”

Nominations can be made by visiting canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 until February 26, 2015, 11:59 pm EST. A distinguished panel of judges will review all nominees and present a list of 75 finalists who will be profiled online in March, after which all Canadians can vote for their favourite nominees.

The 25 winners will be announced in June 2015, and will be recognized in the July print edition of Canadian Immigrant magazine and online on canadianimmigrant.ca. Winners will also receive a commemorative plaque and $500 towards a charity of their choice provided by RBC. Media partners include Toronto Star, Metro, Sing Tao and South Asian Focus.

About Canadian Immigrant

Attracting more than 400,000 readers each month and over 100,000 visitors a month online, Canadian Immigrant is a national magazine, distributed in Toronto, Vancouver and in key centres across the country, which helps new Canadians build a successful life and home in Canada. Its mandate to inform, educate and motivate provides easy-to-access content for newcomers looking for information from careers, education and settling in to culture and business. Our website, canadianimmigrant.ca, offers daily editorial, forums, tools and resources to further help newcomers across Canada. Canadian Immigrant is a division of Metroland Media Group, a dynamic media company with more than 100 community and daily newspapers in print and online, as well as innovative websites including wheels.ca, goldbook.ca, flyerland.ca and localwork.ca.

ABOUT RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank, and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 78,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 38 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed more than $104 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $69 million and $35 million in sponsorships. Learn more at www.rbc.com/community-sustainability.