June 19, 2017

Winnipeg, MB – The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) is pleased to announce that it will hold its 2018 national conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 19-22, in partnership with Manitoba Professional Planning Institute (MPPI), shining a spotlight on the province’s commitment to planning excellence.

The conference theme is “SOUL”, which emphasizes key planning elements that help shape and transform communities. Conference co-chairs, Donovan Toews MCIP, RPP, and Chris Leach FCIP, and a team of local volunteers, have already hit the ground running to ensure the success of the event.

“Planners in Manitoba are eager to give each delegate a warm welcome to the cities that make our province so great,” said Toews. “The conference theme of SOUL touches on the city’s grit and authenticity, on the city’s spaces and places that gather and connect people, on the city’s landmarks and secrets that only locals know, on the culture and diversity that binds us as a province and as a country, and the reflection and possibilities of our city that each and every one of us are inspired by.”

When last held in Winnipeg in 2008, the national conference “Planning by Design in Community: Making Great Places – Healthy, Caring, Inclusive and Green” was a great success, with an engaging program that attracted 699 delegates from across Canada and from around the world, including those from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. The 2018 conference committee is now building upon this foundation, and in doing so, has sent a delegation of a dozen planners and municipal administrators to the 2017 national conference in Calgary, June 18-21, to showcase what attendees can look forward to.

“Winnipeg has become a symbol of renewal for our colleagues in Canada and around the world,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “This is evident when thinking about the number of planning, design, and architectural conferences that have chosen to be hosted in Winnipeg over the past several years – professionals want to see for themselves innovation and renewal at work. I’m looking forward to seeing how the 2018 CIP conference takes shape over the course of 2017, as local planners, elected officials, and design practitioners work together to form a truly world class program and showcase for delegates coming into the city.”

Manitobans are proud that excellence in planning and design practice have helped to shape the prairies into a thriving, competitive, and modern place, and the CIP/MPPI national conference will provide the platform to shine a national spotlight on these accomplishments.

Toews embraces the opportunity, “Welcome to Winnipeg – where our story is just beginning.”

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About the Canadian Institute of Planners The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) works on behalf of over 6,500 planning professionals nationally, and has served as the voice of Canada’s planning community since 1919. Planners safeguard the health and well-being of urban and rural communities, by addressing the use of land, resources, facilities, and services with consideration to physical, economic, and social efficiency. Our members work in both the public service and the private sector, across fields such as land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, Indigenous communities planning, transportation planning, and economic development.

Media Inquiries:
Jason Syvixay; Email: jsyvixay@htfc.mb.ca
2018 CIP Conference, Communications Committee Chair