OTTAWA, May 11, 2006 - Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women Beverley J. Oda today announced the national winner of the Canada Day Poster Challenge 2006. This year's winner is Sofia Hou, a 14 year old student at Lisgar Collegiate Institute, in Ottawa.Second place is awarded to Julianna Rhymer, 18, of Morris School, in Morris, Manitoba. Third place goes to John Thomson, 14, of Wolfville Junior High School, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia."The Canada Day Poster Challenge encourages young Canadians to visualize Canada through their eyes and explore the many facets of our country, from its landscape and heritage to its people, cultures, and ideas," said Minister Oda. "This contest provides them with an opportunity to display their creativity while demonstrating their pride in being Canadian."The Canada Day Poster Challenge, which was launched in 1987, invites young Canadians, aged 18 and under, from every part of the country to express their vision of Canada. This year, the Celebrate Canada Committees in all provinces and territories selected an overall finalist from among the winners in four age categories. The designs of the 13 provincial and territorial finalists were then submitted to a jury, which chose the one that best illustrated this year's theme.Sofia Hou's design was chosen from more than 20 000 submissions as the official 2006 Canada Day poster, which will be distributed across the country by the Celebrate Canada Committees. The theme of this year's Canada Day Poster Challenge was "Images of Canada." The contest invited participants to express themselves through images that portray what Canada means to them.When asked to explain her design, Sofia Hou said, "Our nation Canada, is seen through the eyes of the people of the country as being full of diversity and beauty from sea to sea (a mari usque ad mare)." The finalists from each province and territory and their escorts will attend the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill on July 1. They will join the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, and thousands of fellow Canadians to celebrate Canada's 139th birthday.From June to September 2006, the winning poster and those of the 12 finalists will be exhibited at the Canadian Children's Museum, located in the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, Quebec. They will also be part of a window display at the Bay on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, from June 15 to July 15, 2006.The Canada Day Poster Challenge 2006 finalists for each province and territory are:Sofia Hou, 14, Ottawa, OntarioJulianna Rhymer, 18, Morris, ManitobaJohn Thomson, 14, New Minas, Nova ScotiaChanel Campbell, 10, Georgetown, Prince Edward IslandAlexandria Duchaine, 5, Faro, YukonÉmy Gagné St-Laurent, 15, Pointe-Lebel, QuebecMirae Lee, 14, Bathurst, New BrunswickNichole Maddox, 16, Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and LabradorLisa Qiu, 15, Vancouver, British ColumbiaDominique Rivard, 14, Hay River, Northwest TerritoriesAlanna Surkan, 18, Prince Albert, SaskatchewanKristen Thackeray, 17, Widewater, AlbertaOlivia Ullyot, 13, Baker Lake, Nunavut The Canada Day Poster Challenge is one of the Department of Canadian Heritage's most popular programs. Official partners of the 2006 Canada Day Poster Challenge-Hudson's Bay Company, the Trans Canada Trail Foundation, the Historica Foundation of Canada, the Dominion Institute, and the Canadian Children's Museum-will offer prizes to this year's winners.Copies of the winning poster can be obtained from offices of the Celebrate Canada Committees in all provinces and territories. The addresses and telephone numbers of these committees can be found on the Department of Canadian Heritage website at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/affiche-poster. Posters of all the winners and finalists in the four age categories for each province and territory can also be viewed on the Department's website, as of Friday, May 12.Information : Robert Paterson Director of CommunicationsOffice of the Minister of Canadian Heritageand Status of Women819 997-7788Donald BoulangerA/Chief, Media RelationsCanadian Heritage819 994-9101
