Ontario Student Wins Nation-wide 2003 Canada Day Poster Challenge
OTTAWA, June 16, 2003 -- Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps today announced the name of the winner of the 2003 Canada Day Poster Challenge. His name is Clifford Chiu, age 16, a student at the Ivy Yin Yuk Leung Art Studio, in Scarborough. Sam Stewart, age 10, a student at St. Jean Elementary in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, took second place, and Lisa Blackmore, age 16, a student at Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton, New Brunswick, was the third place winner.Clifford's poster was chosen as the official Canada Day poster from among almost 20,000 drawings and computer graphic designs submitted by Canadians aged 18 or younger from every part of the country.
"Young people are the future of our country. Every year, they find ways to touch us with their talent and the images they choose to convey their vision of Canada," said Minister Copps.
The theme for this year's Poster Challenge was "Celebrating Canada's Natural Beauty". When asked to explain how his drawing captured that theme, Clifford provided this statement to the Celebrate Canada Committee for Ontario: "A Canada Goose, representing Canadian fauna, flies over the country and discovers Canada's natural beauty."
The Canada Day Poster Challenge was launched in 1987 to encourage young Canadians to share their visions of the country. Every year, a finalist is chosen in every province and territory by the Celebrate Canada Committee. The creations of the 13 finalists are then presented to a panel of judges, who choose the national winner. Clifford Chiu was chosen from among this year's 13 finalists.
Clifford and the other finalists from each province and territory, along with one member of their family, will take part in the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill on July 1, as the special guests of Minister Copps. They will join the many thousands of Canadians who will come together on that occasion to celebrate Canada Day.
The finalists for each province and territory are:
Clifford Chiu, 16, Ontario (North York)
Sam Stewart, 10, Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown)
Lisa Blackmore, 16, New Brunswick (Fredericton)
Rosemary Flinn, 15, Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's)
Katie Hillman, 14, Nova Scotia (Lower Sackville)
Melissa Rancourt, 16, Quebec (St-Amable)
Nathan Thompson, 16, Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Andrew Meredith, 18, Saskatchewan (Coronach)
Marc Yu, 17, Alberta (Edmonton)
Mei Yu, 17, British Columbia (Burnaby)
Tonya Freake, 12, Yukon (Faro)
Kimberley Branton, 16, Northwest Territories (Hay River)
Caesar Arnatsiaq, 17, Nunavut (Igloolik)
The Trans Canada Trail Foundation and Sympatico.ca are the official sponsors of the 2003 Canada Day Poster Challenge.
We are pleased to highlight the participation of the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Children's Museum, the Museum of Civilization and the Royal Canadian Mint.
Copies of the winner poster can be obtained through the Celebrate Canada Committee headquarters in each province and territory. The addresses and telephone numbers for the Committees can be found by going to http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/canada.
Information:
Sonya-Kim St-Julien
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
(819) 997-7788
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