Manitoba Communicators of the Year (MCOY) Awards

The Manitoba Communicators Of The Year (MCOY) Awards celebrate excellence in communications and public relations across Manitoba. Presented annually by CPRS Manitoba, these awards honour individuals and teams who demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation, and results in the public relations profession.

2026 Key Dates

Nominations Open: Now

Nomination Deadline:  Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

Awards Night: Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Qualico Family Centre in Assiniboine Park. Tickets on sale now!

For questions about the nomination process or event tickets, contact info@cprs.mb.ca.


Volunteer as a Jury Member

We are seeking five qualified volunteers to participate on the jury for the 2026 MCOY Awards. Jury members will review submitted nominations and participate in a final adjudication session.

📅 Apply by March 7, 2026
👉  To express interest, email info@cprs.mb.ca

Experience needed:

  • at least 10 years of experience in communication management or a similar field
  • living and working in Manitoba
  • available for at least two hours for the selection process
 

Attend The MCOY Awards Night

Celebrate Manitoba’s top communicators at our 2026 MCOY Awards.

📅 Wednesday, April 29, 2026
📍 Location: Qualico Family Centre, Assiniboine Park

Tickets are on sale now! Learn more about our featured panel discussion and secure your tickets today.

2026 MCOY Award Categories

 

Communicator of the Year  

  • Substantial leadership (7-10 years), holding successive roles in the field of public relations or communications.
  • Demonstrates how the individual uses benchmarking, innovation, and big-picture thinking to elevates the practice of public relations or communications.
  • Explains how the individuals achieves impact in their area of practice (i.e. government relations, donor relations, media relations, corporate communications, crisis communications, client experience, etc.).
  • Expresses the individual’s commitment to continual learning and professional development.
  • Demonstrates how the individual is committed to ethical practice of public relations or communications.
  • Demonstrates how the individual gives back to the public relations and communications field through volunteerism.
  • Demonstrates how the individual promotes excellence in the field of public relations or communications through a unique thought leadership perspective.


Emerging Communications Leader

  • Shows a commitment to practicing communications strategically and ethically by demonstrated study or certification in public relations or communications.
  • Highlights three examples of work that showed high impact results with measurable outcomes to drive organizational success.
  • Demonstrated how the individual responded to challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset.
  • Explains how the individual sought guidance and integrated feedback from their manager and.or peers.
  • Demonstrates that the individual applies a strategic mindset.
  • The individual is within six years or less of practicing public relations or communications.

Mentor of the Year  

  • Showcases how the mentor applied their experience, and/or academic knowledge to their mentee.
  • Mentorship occurred within the last two years.
  • Describes how the mentor fostered an ethical mindset with their mentee.
  • Describes the lasting impact that the mentor had on the mentee that will support future generations of communications professionals.
  • Demonstrates how the mentor encouraged their mentee to consider situations through a strategic and critical lens.
  • Demonstrates how the mentor modeled decision-making benefits, consequences and obligations of a communications practitioner towards their organization and stakeholders.
  • Showcases the progress that the mentee has made in their public relations or communications career because of the mentorship.
  • Captures unique qualities of the mentor and their approach to mentorship
  • Showcases the mentor’s openness to learning from their mentee in addition to sharing their own expertise.
  • Describes how the mentor created a safe, welcoming space for the mentee to grow and learn.

Outstanding Contribution – Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

  • Demonstrates alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives in relation to reconciliation or EDI contributions.
  • Identifies outcomes the organization achieved owing to a direct (or correlated) involvement of public relations or communication management strategy. 
  • Explains the public relations or communication approach (methodology) used to roll-out the strategy.
 

Outstanding Contribution – Engagement

  • Demonstrates alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives in relation to public participation, community engagement, citizen engagement etc.
  • Identifies outcomes the organization achieved owing to a direct (or correlated) involvement of public relations or communication management strategy. 
  • Explains the public participation/community engagement approach and intersection with public relations or communication to roll-out the strategy.


Outstanding Contribution – Change Management

  • Demonstrates alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives in relation to change management.
  • Identifies outcomes the organization achieved owing to a direct (or correlated) involvement of public relations or communication management strategy. 
  • Explains the change management approach (e.g. ADKAR, KOTTER, Kübler-Ross, Nudge Theory) and intersection with public relations or communication to roll-out the strategy.

About the Awards

CPRS Manitoba introduced the Manitoba Communicator of the Year (MCOY) Awards in 2008 to honour individuals and organizations for contributions to the public relations and communications community. In 2024, the MCOY Awards were refreshed, singling out contributions of individuals as well as teams for their contributions to strategically relevant programs that furthered key corporate governance objectives.

View past recipients of the MCOY Award