Category Archives: Awards and Achievements

Survey results show Guelph residents are satisfied with their overall quality of life Continue reading 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey results

Guelph, Ont., October 29, 2019—For the third year in a row the City of Guelph received an award from the International Economic Development Council. This year the City of Guelph won the Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its partnership with the University of Guelph in planning and delivering an agriculture media tour for Global Affairs Canada in 2018. The award was presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 15 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. “Being selected as one of four Canadian cities for the agriculture media tour speaks to Guelph’s agri-innovation strengths,” says Kurtis Wells, Marketing and Events Coordinator for the City of Guelph. “We’re very proud to win this award from the IEDC, and we share this win with… Continue reading City wins award for 2018 agriculture media tour

The City of Guelph was presented with the ‘Innovation in Parking Operations & Programs Award’ by the Canadian Parking Association for the new Market Parkade. Continue reading Guelph wins award for innovation in parking operations and programs

Guelph’s economy has grown at a brisk pace over the last five years Continue reading Guelph’s economy fastest growing among mid-sized cities in 2018

Guelph, Ont., June 10, 2019—MoneySense has ranked Guelph as the second best city to buy real estate in Canada after Windsor. Guelph has been among MoneySense’s top five places to buy real estate since 2017. MoneySense ranks cities based on three criteria: Value: how affordable the community is compared to the surrounding area and the region overall. Momentum: how quickly prices are appreciating in a community with an emphasis on long-term appreciation. Expert insight: grading of communities as desirable by an extensive panel of real estate agents. “Employees often want to live in the same city they work in, so a community’s real estate market really matters,” says Barbara Maly, Manager, Economic Development with the City of Guelph. “Whether local businesses choose to expand here… Continue reading Guelph second best city to buy real estate in Canada

Guelph has won an Exemplary Source Water Protection Award from the American Water Works Association Continue reading Guelph wins award for protecting local drinking water sources

The City of Guelph was recognized earlier this month with two top honours at the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), Hamilton Chapter’s 26th annual Pinnacle Awards. Continue reading Guelph recognized with two top awards for communications excellence

Queensland, Australia’s Department of Innovation announced its commitment to provide a letter of support for the City of Guelph and County of Wellington’s Smart Cities Challenge application Continue reading The City of Guelph and the County of Wellington join forces with Queensland, Australia to harness circular economy synergies and tackle global food challenges

The City of Guelph’s Limitless Guelph program is receiving a 2019 PRO Award of Excellence from Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO). Continue reading Limitless Guelph receives PRO Award of Excellence

A global report released by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation at the World Economic Forum annual meeting highlights Guelph-Wellington as one city marshalling a transformation towards a circular food economy. Continue reading Report unveiled at World Economic Forum in Davos features Guelph-Wellington in its global call for change to address the world’s food challenges

Guelph, Ont., January 21, 2019 —The City has received silver level recognition from the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) for its water efficiency programs. Guelph is the first Canadian municipality to achieve such recognition. “We’re thrilled to be recognized again for our water-saving programs,” says Heather Yates, the City’s supervisor for water efficiency. “The dedication of our staff and the ongoing participation of the community have helped us consistently meet, and often outdo, our water conservation and efficiency targets.” “We are pleased to recognize the City of Guelph’s innovative and successful water efficiency and conservation efforts through their addition to the AWE G480 Leaderboard,” notes Bill Christiansen, Director of Programs at AWE. Recognition on AWE’s G480 Leaderboard is based on how a municipality, or water… Continue reading Guelph first Canadian city recognized by the Alliance for Water Efficiency

City recognized for efforts to improve wastewater quality Guelph, Ont., December 20, 2018 —The City received silver level recognition for its wastewater treatment plant from the Grand River Conservation Authority Watershed Wide Optimization Program. The recognition comes from the City’s efforts to improve the wastewater that it returns to the Speed River through multi-level treatment. “We’re honoured to receive this recognition for our ongoing efforts towards excellence in wastewater treatment,” says Tim Robertson, Division Manager, Environmental Services. “Through the dedication of our knowledgeable staff, and working with our colleagues at the Grand River Conservation Authority, we continue to fine-tune our processes to get better performance and reduce the environmental impact of Guelph’s wastewater.” Based on data from 2017, the silver recognition is proof of how… Continue reading Guelph’s Wastewater Treatment Plant earns silver level recognition from the Grand River Conservation Authority

Guelph, Ont., October 4, 2018—For the second year in a row the City of Guelph has claimed awards from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Annual Conference. This year the City of Guelph’s Business Development and Enterprise Services department won the following awards: Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for the Hanlon Creek Business Park sales video (Video/Multimedia Promotion) Silver Excellence in Economic Development Award for the 2017 Economic Snapshot (General Purpose Print Promotion) Bronze Excellence in Economic Development Award for the Downtown Community Improvement Program (Neighbourhood Development) The awards were presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 2 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. “This year our judges reviewed some extraordinary projects that advanced both communities and businesses. We congratulate all the award winners, and… Continue reading City of Guelph wins three awards of excellence for business programs

This isn’t a typical financial or performance report because it’s not just about us. It’s about residents, business, community groups, visitors, volunteers, and our own employees. It’s about people working together to make Guelph a great city, Continue reading City of Guelph releases 2017 Report to the Community

Guelph, Ont., June 12, 2018–The City of Guelph and Jacobs have been recognized with a Platinum Innovation Award of Merit from the Grand River chapter of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario. The award recognizes the team’s work to reuse sediment that was removed from a stormwater management pond during cleaning last year. The award was presented on Wednesday, May 30 at the chapter’s Annual General Meeting. “The City is honoured to receive this award from the Consulting Engineers of Ontario,” said Arun Hindupur, supervisor of infrastructure engineering. “Our team works hard to minimize the impact stormwater has on our community by regular cleaning of neighbourhood ponds. This award recognizes our efforts to take this work one step further—reusing material that would otherwise be sent to… Continue reading City receives award for stormwater management innovation

Guelph, Ont., March 26, 2018 – Earlier today, the City of Guelph was honoured with a 2018 Ontario Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award at the inaugural Age Friendly Community Symposium held in Toronto. The awards celebrate the work of Ontario communities that are striving to become age friendly. “Guelph is a great place to live and age well, and I’m proud our efforts to become an age-friendly community have been recognized with this notable provincial award. It’s an award our entire community can celebrate,” says Mayor Cam Guthrie. On hand to accept the award were Manon Germain, project specialist with Age-Friendly Guelph, and Adam Rutherford, programming and community development supervisor with the City. The recognition program, introduced last year by the Ministry of Seniors Affairs, includes… Continue reading City receives provincial award for its age-friendly initiatives

GLOBE Series recognizes Guelph for being at the forefront of action on climate change. Continue reading City wins Canadian Climate Leadership Award

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has awarded the City of Guelph a Sustainable Community Award in the category of sustainable neighbourhood revitalization and design for the Guelph Innovation District secondary plan. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities praised the plan’s carbon-neutral vision and its efficient, sustainable design which reduces transportation needs. Continue reading City of Guelph’s Innovation District plan wins FCM sustainable community award

Historic preservation and leadership recognized Guelph, Ont., January 30, 2018– The Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) has recognized Guelph’s commitment to historical preservation and restoration. The City was presented with the award for 2017 Project of the Year for Historic Restoration/Preservation in the less than $2 million category for the Guelph Transit Terminal Renovation. Steven Di Pietro, Construction Engineering Technologist for the City of Guelph, was also presented with the 2017 Wally Wells Young Leader Award. The awards were presented at the OPWA’s Annual General meeting in Mississauga on January 25. The Transit Terminal, originally built in 1911, has been in continuous operation for over 100 years. The Association noted the complex nature of the project including the requirement of three levels of Government heritage-designation… Continue reading The City of Guelph wins two Ontario Public Works Association awards

Guelph, Ont., November 13, 2017– Guelph has made the Culture Days Top Ten Cities and Towns list for 2017. Guelph moved up two spots in the ranking, placing eighth in the Populations of 50,000 to 499,999 category, tying with Thunder Bay. This is Guelph’s third year in a row as a top 10 city. “Guelph’s creative community has, once again, pulled out all the stops for Culture Days,” says Patti Broughton, executive director for Guelph Arts Council. “Guelph deserves this recognition as one of Canada’s great creative cities, full of year-round opportunities for residents and visitors to engage in the arts.” Guelph hosted over 40 different activities, events and exhibitions during the eighth annual Culture Days weekend in late September. Each year, Culture Days releases… Continue reading Guelph makes Culture Days’ top 10 list for third year

Survey results show Guelph residents are satisfied with their overall quality of life Continue reading 2017 Citizen Survey results

Guelph, Ont., September 21, 2017 – The City of Guelph economic development enewsletter, Mind Your Business (MYB), is the winner of the Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The award was presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, September 19 during the IEDC Annual Conference, which was held September 17–20 in Toronto. “On behalf of the IEDC board of directors and Excellence in Economic Development Awards Advisory Committee, we extend congratulations to the City of Guelph. Not only did they work to provide a necessary service to their community – their participation in the awards program sheds light on their stellar projects which other communities can now use as a benchmark,” says Michael Langley, CEO of Greater MSP and 2017… Continue reading City of Guelph wins award of excellence for Mind Your Business enewsletter

Provincially funded project helps City save thousands of litres of water each year Guelph, Ont., June 23, 2017—The City has won a Water’s Next award for its innovative rainwater harvesting bus wash system. The award, won in the category of Projects and Technology—Stormwater, was presented last night at a gala in Toronto. The rainwater harvesting bus wash project was initiated in 2012 by the City’s Water Services and Guelph Transit departments, in partnership with Enviro-Stewards Inc., following an award of funding from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change’s Showcasing Water Innovation program. Since 2014, the City has saved more than 1 million litres of drinking water in the process of washing it’s buses—enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools. “We rely on a groundwater… Continue reading City’s rainwater harvesting bus wash wins national award

Guelph’s water efficiency strategy and youth programming recognized Guelph, Ont., May 10, 2017—The Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA) has recognized Guelph’s leadership in water conservation with a 2017 Award of Excellence in Water Efficiency for its updated water efficiency strategy in the Public Sector & Utilities Award category. The City was also recognized for its water-based youth education programming with the H2Awesome event that won in the category of Public Education & Awareness. Both awards were presented earlier today at the OWWA Awards Luncheon. “The City of Guelph is honoured to receive these awards from the Ontario Water Works Association’s Water Efficiency Committee,” said Heather Yates, Supervisor of Water Efficiency at the City. “This recognition means a great deal to us—it honours the hard work… Continue reading City wins two Ontario Water Works Association awards

MoneySense magazine ranked Guelph as the most attractive city for real estate investment value in Canada, according to its annual Where to Buy Now list. Continue reading Guelph named best place to buy real estate in Canada  

Guelph is the most attractive city for real estate investment value in Canada, according to MoneySense’s 2017 Where to Buy Now list. Continue reading Guelph ranked best place to buy real estate in Canada

Guelph, Ont., April 10, 2017– Guelph has ranked tenth best small city for foreign direct investment in fDi Magazine’s American Cities of the Future. The only Canadian city to make the overall top ten list for small cities, Guelph also came in fourth in human capital and lifestyle, and eighth for business friendliness. The bi-annual rankings are completed by fDi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times. Guelph was ranked against 209 small cities with populations ranging from 100,000-350,000. Ranking criteria included over 95 data points in the categories of economic potential, business friendliness, human capital and lifestyle, cost effectiveness and connectivity. “Guelph ticks all the right boxes: a great location; an outstanding university and college; a skilled labour pool; and a supportive business environment. We’re… Continue reading Guelph ranks among top cities in the Americas for foreign direct investment

Guelph received the 2017 Municipality of the Year Award from Festivals and Events Ontario Continue reading Guelph wins Festival and Events Ontario’s “Municipality of the Year” award

Kealy Dedman, Guelph’s City Engineer and General Manager of Engineering and Capital infrastructure Services, received the Public Works Leader of the Year award from the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) at its annual conference. Continue reading City Engineer named Public Works Leader of the Year

Guelph is among Ontario’s most liked, most followed cities online Continue reading Guelph is among Ontario’s most liked, most followed cities

Guelph has been ranked as Canada’s fourth best large city to start and grow a business by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Continue reading Guelph ranks fourth alongside Canada’s large cities as a top place to do business

Guelph ranked the third best city in Canada to raise a family – ReadersDigest.ca Continue reading Guelph ranked third best city in Canada to raise a family

Guelph, Ont., August 24, 2016– The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) awarded the City of Guelph with the 2016 Gold Excellence Award in the Collection Systems category at the Association’s annual conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana yesterday. “The City of Guelph is honoured to receive the Gold Excellence Award for our curbside collection system,” says Heather Connell, manager of Integrated Services, Solid Waste Resources. “Our collection and processing of residential curbside waste—successfully driven by our residents’ diligent three-steam sorting—has enabled Guelph to achieve the highest waste diversion rate in Ontario.” Vivian De Giovanni, supervisor of Program Development with Solid Waste Resources, received the award on behalf of the City for the Automatic Cart-Based Collection System entry. Guelph converted from manual bag-based curbside collection… Continue reading Guelph receives award of excellence for waste collection system

Guelph, Ont., August 19, 2016 – For a second year in a row, the City of Guelph has been honoured with a first place award in the Ontario Parks Association’s Municipal Floral Display Competition. The City’s Parks Operations and Forestry division took home the top award in the best median and boulevard planting category for its “four corners yellow bed” garden, located at the corner of Macdonell and Wyndham streets. The winners in five categories were announced yesterday, August 18, at the Landscape Ontario and University of Guelph Trial Gardens open house in Milton. “I couldn’t be more proud of the efforts, competitive spirit, and Guelph pride that our horticulture team brings to its work every day to make Guelph a beautiful place to live, work… Continue reading City takes first place in municipal floral display competition

The City’s economic development division has been successful in their application for $35,000 from Global Affairs Canada, through the Invest Canada – Community Initiatives (ICCI) program. Continue reading Guelph awarded funds to explore competitiveness in attracting global investment

Guelph was ranked number 10 on the list of best places for new Canadians to live in MoneySense magazine’s 2016 Best Places to Live in Canada report. Continue reading Guelph in top 10 places for new Canadians to live

Guelph’s Market Square and pollinator park are listed among 15 “Thriving Places” in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Continue reading Guelph is creating spaces for people as we grow

City and Earthscape honoured at 2016 PRO Awards Guelph, Ont., April 14, 2016 – The City of Guelph and Earthscape were honoured last Thursday evening at the annual Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO) Educational Forum. The City and Earthscape took home an Awards of Excellence in the Excellence in Design Award category for the new natural playground space in Exhibition Park. “We are honoured to share this PRO Award with Earthscape, which recognizes their professional and unique approach of designing public spaces, their culture of putting kids first and dedication to adapting to client and site specific needs,” says Rory Templeton, landscape planner with the City and manager of the Exhibition Park play equipment project. Each year, through its awards program, PRO recognizes and honours… Continue reading Guelph’s Exhibition Park wins design award

The City of Guelph’s Solid Waste Resources department is pleased to be a 2015 recipient of a Recycling Council of Ontario Silver Award for excellence in the Municipal Communications category. Received during Waste Reduction Week, October 19-25, the award was for the City’s Downtown Waste Cart Communications Campaign. The campaign was developed with the purpose to engage and inform the downtown community throughout the transition to three stream automated waste collection. The campaign specifically addressed the unique downtown environment while ensuring business owners and residents were aware of, prepared for, and successfully adopting the new automated collection system. The City also worked with the Downtown Guelph Business Association and Guelph Downtown Neighborhood Association groups to disseminate information to their members, including conveying the importance of… Continue reading City receives award for Downtown Waste Cart Communications Campaign

Ottawa, Ont. October 30, 2015 – The City of Guelph, Enmax Corporation and Windmill Developments were announced as the 2015 winners of the QUEST Community Energy Builder Awards at the annual QUEST Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony on October 27 in Toronto, Ontario. The Community Energy Builder Awards are presented annually by QUEST to recognize leadership and innovation in advancing Smart Energy Communities in Canada.  Awards are presented in three categories that reflect the key implementing sectors of Smart Energy Communities: Local Government, Real Estate Sector, and Utility and Energy Service Providers. “Smart Energy Communities are now being recognized as one solution in meeting Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial energy and climate goals,” said Brent Gilmour, Executive Director of QUEST. “QUEST congratulates the 2015 award winners… Continue reading City of Guelph, Enmax Corporation and Windmill Developments Win QUEST 2015 Community Energy Builder Awards

Guelph, ON, June 5, 2015 – The City of Guelph is receiving its share of recognition this year from the communications industry’s two leading professional organizations. Guelph was honoured again Tuesday night by the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) with two more awards for communications excellence. The City’s communications strategy for the Jubilee Park Master Plan has been awarded the 2015 Don Rennie Memorial Award and a Silver Award of Excellence in the Canadian Community Relations Campaign of the Year category. The Don Rennie Memorial Award recognizes outstanding team achievement in developing and executing a strategic approach to government communications on a specific issue. The Award was one of several noteworthy Major Awards presented over the course of the three-day CPRS National Conference in Montreal,… Continue reading National panel recognizes City’s communications for Jubilee Park as best in its class

Guelph, ON, May 27, 2015 – Guelph-Wellington Emergency Medical Service (GWEMS) was honoured last Friday evening at the 12th annual Service Awards for Geriatric Excellence. GWEMS took home a Service Award for Geriatric Excellence in the organization category for its Community Paramedicine Program and for demonstrating dedication, leadership and innovation towards care of seniors in the community. Jane McKinnon Wilson, of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Waterloo Wellington Dufferin branch, put forth the nomination and there were five other nominees. “We are honoured to receive a SAGE in recognition of the Community Paramedicine Program. This award highlights our dedication, leadership and innovation in providing the highest quality pre-hospital patient care to our aging population through the integration of medical and social services across Guelph and… Continue reading Guelph-Wellington Emergency Medical Service receives Service Award for Geriatric Excellence

Guelph, ON, May 25, 2015 – Ontario Nature presented the City of Guelph with the 2014 Lee Symmes Municipal Award on Saturday in recognition of the City’s commitment to the natural environment. The award acknowledges the City’s leading-edge Natural Heritage System policies developed and implemented over the past 12 years. “The City is honoured to receive the Lee Symmes Municipal Award in recognition of our Natural Heritage System policies and related work,” says Todd Salter, general manager, Planning and Building Services. “This conservation award is evidence of Guelph’s environmental commitment to the long-term protection of the City’s natural heritage features and areas. This environmental achievement would be not possible without the hard work and dedication of City staff, successive City Councils and community stakeholders.” Todd… Continue reading City of Guelph wins award for leadership in environmental conservation

A joint media release from the City of Guelph and Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. Guelph, ON, May 6, 2015 – Communicators from the City of Guelph and Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. recently received eight awards for communications excellence. Pinnacle Awards – Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), Hamilton Chapter Pinnacle Awards are prestigious communications awards with a long-standing history of recognizing and rewarding the best public relations programs and projects from the Hamilton, Halton, Niagara and Southwestern Ontario regions. The Canadian Public Relations Society presented the following awards at an award ceremony held on April 29 in Hamilton: City of Guelph communications practitioner, Alison Thompson, received a Pinnacle Award in the Communication Management category for My Guelph, My Vote —a communications program that helped boost voter… Continue reading Communicators from the City of Guelph and Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. win eight awards for communications excellence

Communications plan for 2014 election awarded Gold Quill Excellence Award Guelph, ON, April 21, 2015 – The City Guelph has been honoured for excellence in communications by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). The City’s 2014 municipal election communications plan—My Guelph, My Vote—which focused on ensuring residents were aware of and involved in the municipal voting process, has been awarded an IABC 2015 Gold Quill Excellence Award in the government communication programs (communications management) category. The award honours the dedication, innovation and passion of communicators on a global scale, and recognizes excellence in strategic communications. Communications Officer Alison Thompson, who led the implementations efforts, will accept the award on the City’s behalf in June. “This communications plan embodies the City of Guelph’s commitment to… Continue reading City of Guelph honoured for excellent communications

Guelph, ON, April 10, 2015 – The City of Guelph is one of Ontario’s newest Youth Friendly Communities. The City, along with the City of Sault Ste. Marie, the towns of Gananoque and Oakville, and Municipality of South Huron, were honoured on March 25 for their outstanding commitment to providing youth with opportunities to play, and participate in and contribute to their communities. Guelph received Play Works’ gold designation, which represents the successful demonstration of 15 of 16 Youth Friendly Community criteria. Recognition levels include bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Since 2005, 41 Ontario communities have been recognized as youth friendly. Play Works, an independent group of organizations committed to encouraging and promoting a greater investment in youth play, established the Youth Friendly Community Recognition… Continue reading City receives Play Works’ Gold Youth Friendly Community designation

The article titled, “Community Energy in Guelph: Environment and Economy in Partnership” chronicles Guelph’s journey in its efforts to conserve energy and water despite its growing population. Continue reading Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative highlighted in Engineering Dimensions magazine

Guelph, On, November 13, 2014 – The design, preservation and enhancement of Guelph’s Market Square has earned the City a heritage landscape award. The City, along with Janet Rosenberg and Associates, was presented the Margaret and Nicholas Hill Cultural Heritage Landscape Award last Friday at the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s seventh annual awards dinner in Toronto. Named for Margaret and Nicholas Hill, the award recognizes an individual, group, or project that has heightened awareness and appreciation of Ontario’s significant landscapes, or endeavoured to preserve a noteworthy example of the product of human interaction. “The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario applauds the City of Guelph for its vision and commitment in creating this wonderful space with its combination of heritage and community pleasure,” said Susan Ratcliffe, awards… Continue reading City receives heritage landscape award for Market Square design

The City of Guelph received two new awards for its effort to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading The Federation of Canadian Municipalities recognizes Guelph’s energy program

The pavilion at Market Square has earned an award of merit from the Canadian Architect magazine. The pavilion is located in front of City Hall in the heart of Downtown Guelph. The 2,800-square-foot facility was designed by Toronto’s RDH Architects. The pavilion is used year round by members of the public as they enjoy the interactive water feature and skating rink. It houses a Zamboni, mechanical spaces, a water collection cistern and chillers for the ice rink/water feature, as well as an accessible washroom/change room and public lockers. Members of the jury at the magazine praised the pavilion’s functionality and simple, elegant design. Learn more about the award.