Honorary Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners
2025 Nomination Guidelines
Honorary membership in the Canadian Institute of Planners is the highest honour the Institute can bestow upon a non-planner. This prestigious distinction recognizes individuals working outside of the planning profession who have made a significant contribution to the promotion or enhancement of planning practice, the profession, or both. This honour acknowledges an individual’s extraordinary contribution to vitality, resilience, and sustainability in one or more communities across Canada and/or around the world.
To become an Honorary Member, an individual must be nominated by a CIP member in good standing and adhere to the nomination criteria. The nomination is brought before CIP’s Honours and Awards Jury, which makes a recommendation to the CIP Board of Directors. New Honorary Members are presented during the honours and awards ceremony at CIP’s national conference. Honorary Members do not hold voting rights in the Institute.
2025 Key Dates
Eligible Nominees
Submit a Nomination
Dossier Requirements
Planning Contributions
Letters of Support
Submission
Jury Process
Questions
2025 Key Dates
| Nomination submission deadline | January 20, 2025, 11:59 p.m. PT |
| Notifications sent to nominators and successful nominees | March 2025 |
| Public announcement of new Fellows | May 29, 2025 |
| Honours and awards ceremony – Toronto, ON | TBD |
Eligible Nominees
Honorary membership may be granted to individuals who are not planners but who are actively involved in planning, for example, educators, journalists, civil servants, elected officials, community members, and members of not-for-profits.
Nominees must be Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents, residing in Canada at the time of their nomination.
CIP Fellows, members of CIP or a Provincial and Territorial Institute and Association (PTIA), and people who are employed in planning but are not members, cannot be nominated.
CIP celebrates and promotes diversity, equality, and inclusion by offering equal opportunities to all qualified individuals, without regard to race, colour, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or appearance. CIP believes that honouring those who reflect the diversity of our membership and the Canadian population makes us stronger.
Submit a Nomination
Any Fellow (FCIP), professional member (MCIP®) or retired member of CIP in good standing can nominate an Honorary Member.
In an effort to circumvent bias, CIP has enacted strict requirements outlining who is ineligible to nominate an Honorary Member. The following individuals cannot nominate an Honorary Member:
- a member of the CIP Honours and Awards Jury
- a member of the CIP Board of Directors
The nominator is responsible for the creation of a complete dossier package and its timely submission. Nominators are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the submission requirements and deadlines. They must be familiar with the nominee’s work and have an ethical duty to ensure that the dossier is accurate.
The nominator is responsible for preparing the submission without the knowledge of the nominee. The confidentiality of the submission from the candidate is mandatory. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a submission being refused. Further, it is strongly recommended that the family of the nominee not be informed of the nomination.
The written submission is vitally important as the Honours and Awards Jury depends on the content of the dossier to make its recommendation. The jury does not seek other information.
Dossier Requirements
Each dossier must include:
- A one-page cover letter which outlines how the nominee’s accomplishments/contributions align with the nomination criteria. The letter must include the nominee’s full name (including any designations), their email address, a confirmation of the nominee’s current residency, as well as their Canadian citizenship/permanent residency status.
- An up-to-date résumé of the nominee (to be as complete as possible).
- At least two individual letters of support from professional (MCIP®/FCIP) or retired members of CIP in good standing. A minimum of one of these letters must be received from a member outside the province or territory of the nominee.
- A signed statement from the nominator that the nomination process has remained confidential and that to their knowledge the nominee is unaware of being considered for honorary membership.
Planning Contributions
A nominee’s dossier must demonstrate their significant or extraordinary contributions in Canada or abroad that advance CIP’s stated values, such as:
- Facilitating the participation of citizens in planning communities to enhance quality of life.
- Actively participating in a planning process to advance the aspirations of Northern, rural, Indigenous, or urban communities and regions.
- Contributing to the learning and experience of planners in a way that enhances their professional practice.
Letters of Support
The letters of support included in an honorary membership nomination submission are a key aspect of the dossier. Authors of letters of support should be familiar with the nominee’s work and/or contributions and must be professional (MCIP®/FCIP) or retired members of CIP in good standing.
Letters of support (maximum two pages each) must include the author’s name, email address, signature, and must demonstrate how the candidate meets the nomination criteria. The following information should be included when applicable:
- Any assessments that speak to the significance of contributions/achievements, such as prizes, awards, honours, citations, national or international publication of ideas or findings, and other means by which excellence is recognized.
- Any contribution that was made in one place and adopted elsewhere because it was useful. This could be a policy, an approach to a problem, a design, a service at the national scale, or an academic contribution that goes beyond the ordinary.
Submission
The dossier, addressed to Hannah Whitworth, Officer, Recognition and Member Engagement, must be submitted by Monday, January 20, 2025, 11:59 p.m. PT at impact@cip-icu.ca.
Jury Process
Honours and Awards Jury members are appointed by CIP’s Board of Directors and have combinations of experience in professional practice or academia. At least five members of the jury are CIP Fellows.
The tasks of the jury are to:
- review each completed dossier
- recommend nominees for honorary membership based solely on outstanding contributions to planning
- present recommendations to the CIP Board of Directors for ratification
CIP’s President informs new Honorary Members that they have been selected, or the designate(s) for the honouree, in the case of posthumous membership. If a new Honorary Member (or designate) cannot attend the conference, an alternative venue for the presentation will be found.
Questions
Questions related to the Honorary Member selection process may be emailed to impact@cip-icu.ca.