CORRECTION — CPRS Awards of Excellence celebrates best in communications and PR in Canada

Canadian Public Relations Society

ST. ANDREWS, New Brunswick, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) has celebrated the best in communications and public relations programs, projects and organizational excellence from across Canada by recognizing 95 winners as part of the 2026 CPRS Awards of Excellence.

The Awards Gala was held as part of the CPRS National Conference being held in St. Andrews, NB, from May 24-26.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors of CPRS, congratulations to all the recipients of this year’s Awards of Excellence,” said Jane Antoniak, MCM, APR, MCPRS, CPRS National President. “The work being done by professional communicators in Canada is simply amazing. It represents the best in professionalism, creativity, and purpose. Our awards gala is an opportunity to celebrate that work.”

“The competition for our awards program is intense,” said Lisa Covens, MA, CAIP, MCPRS, Board Liaison to the CPRS National Major Awards and the Awards of Excellence Committee. “We receive far more submissions than there are awards to be handed out. This just shows the calibre of professional communications talent here in Canada. It is really a highlight of the conference for me to be able to hand out so many awards in person at the Awards Gala.”

Among other things, the awards recognized communications efforts related to media relations, non-profit work, internal/external communications, corporate social responsibility, issues/crisis management, special events, new product/service launches, and communications teams.

The Award Gala Evening Sponsor was Global Public Affairs. They are Canada’s largest, privately owned policy, government relations, and strategic communications firm. They bring expert knowledge to help organizations navigate complex challenges and implement winning solutions.

The CPRS Awards of Excellence are divided into three sub-categories: Communications Programs, Communications Projects and awards recognizing Organizational Excellence. Submissions may also be recognized for Best in Show, Best Creativity and Innovation or Best Sustainable Development Initiative.

The full list of winners of the 2026 Awards of Excellence follows:

Best Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign
GOLD – Craft Public Relations, “Firehouse Subs Touch-The-Truck”
SILVER – ChangeMakers, “Voices Unheard – Health disparities for Black women in Canada”
BRONZE – ChangeMakers, “Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police”

Best Influencer Campaign
BRONZE – Niagara Parks, “Niagara Takes Flight”
SILVER – Mastercard Canada x Weber Shandwick, “Mastercard – Putting Fans in Pole Position”
SILVER – Shareworthy PR & Communications, “ Wordfest’s Bookstagrammer-In-Residence Program”
GOLD – McDonald’s Canada x Weber Shandwick Canada: The 30th Anniversary of the McFlurry

Best Integrated Communications – Large Budget
GOLD – Castlemain (a ChangeMakers company), “McLean Legacy Fund Launch”
SILVER – Craft Public Relations x Tim Hortons, “Tim Hortons Roll Up To Win Event”
BRONZE – Doctors Manitoba, “Sick of Sick Notes”

Best Integrated Communications – Medium Budget
SILVER – Wilfrid Laurier University, “External Relations & Office of Research Services”
BRONZE – Atlantic Lottery, “$64-Million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball Jackpot Communications Campaign”

Best Integrated Communications – Small Budget
GOLD – Monogram Communications, “Monogram Communications, Kitselas Treaty Ratification” Campaign”
SILVER – Community Living Toronto, Petronilla Ndebele, Minal Nanda, and Artem Perederii

Best Integrated Communications – No Budget/ Grassroots
SILVER – WCB Nova Scotia, “Work-Connected Recovery”

Best Non-Profit / NGO Campaign – Small Budget
GOLD – Penguins International & Rethink PR, “Protest March of the Penguins”
SILVER – Calgary Public Library Foundation, “The Fifth Book Campaign”
BRONZE – SOMA Public Relations, “Construction Plastics Initiative Benchmarking Study”

Best Non-Profit / NGO Campaign – Medium Budget
SILVER – Agnostic & Sinai Health Foundation, “Hot & Bothered”
BRONZE – Agnostic & Terry Fox Foundation, “Finish It”

Best Publication
GOLD – CIFAR Publication, “The 5th Floor Internal Digital Newsletter”
SILVER – Cooke Inc., “Cooke Newsletter, Winter 2025”

Best Special Events Projects – Large Budget
GOLD – NB Power, “Knowledge is Power. Take charge of your bill.”
SILVER – University of Toronto, “U of T’s World Series Watch Parties”
BRONZE – Craft Public Relations, “Reese’s Cabane à Caramel”
BRONZE – Pets Plus Us x Weber Shandwick Canada, “Reclaim the Skies: Reimagining a Canadian tradition into a day of joy for pets”
BRONZE – Craft Public Relations, “PENN.Gals Resort”

Best Special Events Projects – Medium Budget
GOLD – Niagara Region, “Rachel Dedinsky and 2026 Budget Campaign Team”
SILVER – Atlantic Lottery, “Shining Light on Gambling Odds”
BRONZE – Craft Public Relations, “Tims Rewards Steps Up to the Plate for the Toronto Blue Jays”

Best Special Events Projects – Small Budget
GOLD – Burson Canada, “Year in Search 2025”
SILVER – University of Toronto, “A conversation with a Nobel laureate”
BRONZE- Toronto Port Authority, “Girls Take Flight 2025”

Best Use of Media Relations – Large Budget
GOLD – Royal LePage with Burson Canada, “Research and Media Relations Program: Building Trust, Igniting Dialogue”
SILVER – McDonald’s Canada x Weber Shandwick Canada, “McDonald’s Canada x Shania Twain All Dressed Up”
BRONZE – The Coca-Cola Company in Canada and Coke Canada Bottling, “Canada’s Kindest Community”

Best Use of Media Relations – Medium Budget
GOLD – Capital-Image, “Inauguration du Pavillon de soins palliatifs / Medifice”
GOLD – The Coca-Cola Company in Canada x Weber Shandwick, “Fuze Iced Tea: Competitor Readiness”
SILVER – Interac Corp. and Burson Canada, “Holiday Spending Squeeze”
BRONZE – Atlantic Lottery, “$64-Million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball Jackpot”
BRONZE – McDonald’s Canada x Weber Shandwick Canada, “McDavid’s”

Best Use of Media Relations – Small Budget
GOLD – Craft Public Relations, “The Moosehead Presidential Pack”
SILVER – Amplify Public Relations, Children First Canada, “Countdown for Kids”:
BRONZE – Metro Vancouver, “Media Relations Team”
BRONZE – Penguins International & Rethink PR, “Protest March of the Penguins”

Brand Development Campaign of the Year
GOLD – The Coca-Cola Company in Canada x Weber Shandwick: Fuze Iced Tea: It’s the Flavour
GOLD – Craft Public Relations: Reese’s Cabane à Caramel
SILVER – Craft Public Relations, “Canada Dry X Roots: Two Iconic Canadian Brands, One Crisp Collab”
BRONZE – Monogram Communications, “Monogram Communications SD 57 Rebrand Project”

Canadian Digital Communications Campaign of the Year
GOLD – Craft Public Relations, Moosehead Breweries, “The Last Bottle”
SILVER – Enbridge Gas with Burson Canada, Call Before You Dig

Canadian Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campaign of the Year
GOLD – ViiV Healthcare Canada, “Edelman x ViiV: Faces of HIV”
SILVER – City of Mississauga, “One Mississauga. Embrace and Celebrate our Diversity”
BRONZE – The Coca-Cola Company in Canada x Weber Shandwick, “Balikbayan Magic”

Canadian Issues / Crisis Management Campaign of the Year
SILVER – McDonald’s Canada x Weber Shandwick Canada, “Tariffs Mitigation” 
BRONZE – Edmonton Public Schools, “Communications”

Canadian Government Relations Campaign of the Year
GOLD – Doctors Manitoba, “Sick of Sick Notes”
SILVER – Agnostic & Coinbase, “Coinbase Canada Stablecoin Advocacy”

Canadian Health Care Campaign of the Year
GOLD – Agnostic & Sinai Health Foundation, “Hot & Bothered”
SILVER – GCI Canada and Hologic Inc., “Early Detection Saves Lives” 
BRONZE – Interior Health, “LINK-ED – Strengthening rural emergency care”

Employee Engagement and Internal Communications Campaign of the Year
GOLD – Southlake Health, “Workday Communications and Change Readiness Team”
SILVER – BMO Corporate Communications Team, “Powered by us: Mobilizing senior leaders for BMO’s Ambition 2030 strategy”
BRONZE – Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd.,” We Are Worth It – Safety Engagement Campaign”

External Communications
GOLD – Earnscliffe, “Answer the Call”
SILVER – Héma-Québec, “Le jeu d’évasion qui sauve des vies”
BRONZE – City of Leduc, “Communications and Marketing Services, Public Safety Communications”

New Product or Service Launch 
GOLD – Craft Public Relations, “Your First Crush, All Grown Up”
SILVER – McDonald’s Canada x Weber Shandwick Canada, “McVeggie”
BRONZE – Town Of Whitby Communications and Creative Services, “Town Of Whitby Communications and Creative Services”

Canadian Marketing Communications Campaign of the Year
GOLD – Craft Public Relations, “Your First Crush, All Grown Up”
BRONZE – Mucinex with Talk Shop Media and Cleansheet Communications, “From Coast to Congested Coast”

In House Team of the Year – Large
GOLD – University of Toronto, University of Toronto Communications
SILVER – City of Leduc, Communications and Marketing Services
BRONZE – The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Communications & Public Affairs and Creative Services
BRONZE – City of Vaughan, City of Vaughan’s Communications, Marketing and Engagement Department

In House Team of the Year – Medium
GOLD – Town of Okotoks Communications/Community Engagement Team
SILVER – Alberta Blue Cross, Alberta Blue Cross Corporate Communications

In House Team of the Year  Small
SILVER – Cooke Inc., PR and Communications Team

Sole Practitioner/Solo Practice
BRONZE – APR Amplify Public Relations, Andrea Chrysanthou
BRONZE – Simon Falardeau, Relations publiques

Agency Team of the Year – Small
GOLD – Monogram Communications 
SILVER – SOMA Public Relations
BRONZE – Mastercard

Agency Team of the Year – Medium
GOLD – Rethink PR
BRONZE – Impact Public Affairs

Agency Team of the Year – Large
GOLD – Proof Strategies
SILVER – Craft Public Relations
BRONZE – ChangeMakers

Best Creativity and Innovation
NB Power, “Take Charge of Your Bill”

Best In Show
Craft Public Relations, “Your First Crush, All Grown Up”

Best Sustainable Development
Cooke Inc., “Cooke Newsletter, Winter 2025”

Media Contact:
For further information:
communications@cprs.ca | (416) 239-7034 ext. 4

About CPRS

Founded in 1948, the Canadian Public Relations Society is a not-for-profit association of professionals dedicated to the practice, management, and teaching of public relations and communications. Comprising 13 local societies, CPRS’ mission is to build a national public relations and communications management community through professional development, accreditation, collaboration with thought leaders, a commitment to ethics and a code of professional standards, advocacy for the profession, and support to members at every stage of their careers.