Our nominees are in and now it’s time for the people to vote! The Urban Hero Awards received many nominations across eight categories – an amazing group of people by the sounds of nominator comments. From teachers to neighbours, to gardeners and caregivers, student activists to business leaders, our selection of nominees includes people from all walks of life and all corners of Toronto.
From July 28 to August 21, 2023, the public is welcome to vote for their top choice. Up to eight ‘People’s Choice’ winners will be determined based on who receives the highest number of votes. Spread the word and support your nominees!
Note, only one vote is allowed per IP address per day. Multiple votes per day will be discounted. After the public voting, additional finalists may be selected by the Urban Hero Award organizing committee. The Urban Hero Award winners will be announced this fall.
Click on a name to see the candidate’s profile.
Official contest rules
1. Agreement: These rules govern the “The Urban Hero Awards” (the “Awards”). No purchase is necessary to nominate an award recipient or to receive an award. The act of nominating an individual and accepting a nomination constitutes acceptance of the Award rules and the decisions of the Award judges, which decision shall be final and binding on all entrants.
2. Sponsors: The Award sponsor is Torstar Corporation Community Brands. ('Sponsor').
3. Eligibility: These Awards are open to all residents of Toronto or individuals that work in Toronto above the age of 14, except for employees, their immediate families and anyone living with any employee of either of the Sponsors or any affiliate, advertising or promotional agency of the Sponsors. Incomplete or illegible nominations, mechanically or electronically reproduced entries will not be accepted and will be disqualified.
4. Awards: Nominate an individual for the Awards by going to www.urbanheroes.ca and following the prompts and filling out the on-line nomination form. The nomination period for the Awards begins at 12:01 a.m. on April 1, 2023 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on July 16, 2023. All nominees will be reviewed by Torstar Toronto staff and contacted to confirm their participation in the program. Their permission will also be sought to post their nomination information online. Nominees in the youth category must have the permission of a parent or guardian in order to participate. The name, photo and nomination detail for each confirmed nominee will be posted online beginning 12:01 a.m. on July 28, 2023, for the People’s Choice public voting, whereby people can visit www.urbanheroes.ca to submit their choice for finalist. Every day until closing people can submit one vote (controlled by IP address). Voting for People’s Choice finalists closes at 11:59 p.m. on August 21, 2023. Up to eight ‘People’s Choice’ winners will be determined based on who receives the highest number of votes. Additional finalists may be selected by the Urban Hero Award organizing committee. Final winners will be announced at a reception in October 2023 and profiles will be published in paper, on toronto.com and urbanheroes.ca. Star Metroland Media reserves the right to remove any nominee or winner at its discretion if it is felt the nominee or winner does not embody the spirit of the Urban Hero program.
5. Prize: Up to sixteen award winners will be selected and notified by phone or email in advance of the reception and extended an invitation to the event at which they will be presented with a plaque or trophy. If the winner does not attend the event, their award may be picked up at Torstar Corporation Community Brands Toronto offices, located at 175 Gordon Baker Road, Toronto, ON, M2H 0A2. Each winner is responsible for transportation to and from the event and all other expenses not listed. No responsibility is assumed by the Sponsor for cancelled, delayed, suspended or rescheduled events. Transportation arrangements must be made by the winner at the winner's expense.
6. Release: Prior to receiving the Award, each winner will be required to show valid photo ID and to sign a declaration of eligibility and release form releasing the Sponsors and its respective related parties from any and all liability in connection with the Awards and/or the prize, confirming compliance with the rules and consenting to the use of his or her name and photograph, in any and all forms of media, without further compensation, in any publicity carried out by the Sponsors and/or their advertising and promotional agencies.
7. Indemnity: By participating in these Awards, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor, and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates and/or related companies and each of their officers, directors, shareholders, employees, advisors, assignees, agents, licensees, representatives, advertising, media buyers and promotional agencies from any and all damages, injuries, claims, causes of action, or losses of any kind (including but not limited to lawyers’ fees) arising out of or relating to your participation in the Awards ; your receipt or use of any prize; your violation of any term of these Awards rules; your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right; or any claim that your submission caused any type of damage to a third party.
8. Privacy: We use your personal contact information to administer these Awards, including contacting, announcing, and promoting prizewinners. The Awards are run in compliance with the privacy code, which may be found in full at https://www.metroland.com/privacy-policy.
9. Banning: The Sponsors may, in its sole discretion, prohibit: (i) any person from nominating an individual for Awards; or (ii) an existing nomination whom it believes to be abusing the rules. Such abuse includes but is not limited to entering false information and entering more than once.
10. Other: Odds of winning depend on the caliber and number of eligible nominees received. The Awards are governed by the laws of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein and is void where prohibited by law. The Sponsors reserve the right to cancel or modify the Awards or the Award rules at any time without notice. All prizes must be accepted as awarded, are non-transferable and are not convertible to cash. The Sponsors reserves the right to substitute any prize or portion of the prize with a prize of equal or greater value. All prizes are awarded as-is and no warranties or guarantees are implied or expressed, beyond the standard manufacturer's warranty. The Sponsors are not liable for any lost, late, misdirected or stolen entries or inability to process entries, or any errors, damage or negligence that may arise in connection with the Awards, including technical failures on the part of Award software, virus, website down-time, human error or property damage incurred by any nominator or nominee. The Sponsors are not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising the Awards. Use of any automated system including robotic or form filling software to enter or participate in the Awards is prohibited and will result in disqualification of all nominators or nominees using such assistance. If a dispute arises regarding who submitted an online entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address provided at time of entry. Authorized account holder is the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.
*(Nomination deadline extended to July 16, 2023 and voting launch date is revised to July 28, 2023)
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