The Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC) is excited to announce the winners of this year’s PIBC Awards for Excellence in Planning, Individual Achievement and Student Fellowship.
The Institute annually recognizes the professional work and individual accomplishments of members across British Columbia and the Yukon through its awards and recognition program. The Awards for Excellence in Planning honour the best in professional planning work undertaken by members and the Award for Individual Achievement recognizes the efforts of individual members’ personal commitment to planning and their positive impact on communities and the planning profession.
PIBC also celebrates student members through its Annual Student Fellowship Award which provides funding to support selected university planning student members so that they may present their academic work or research to professional colleagues at PIBC’s annual conferences.
The 2026 PIBC Awards winners were announced and recognized on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during the Institute’s Gala Dinner & Awards Presentation at the PIBC 2026 Annual Conference at the Penticton Lakeside Resort and Conference Centre in Penticton, BC.
“It is a privilege for the Awards & Recognition Committee to review the impressive and impactful planning projects and professionals nominated each year. This annual process provides an important opportunity to recognize the exceptional achievements of planners, their teams, and students across British Columbia and the Yukon,” said Jill Collinson RPP, MCIP, Chair of PIBC’s Awards & Recognition Committee. “We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to submit and share these inspiring projects, and we congratulate this year’s award recipients on their outstanding planning achievements.”
It is with great pleasure that PIBC announced the following 2026 Awards winners:
Award for Individual Achievement: Distinguished Professional Contribution
Christine Callihoo RPP, MCIP
This year’s Distinguished Professional Contribution Award recognizes and celebrates Christine as a dedicated planner who advances climate resilience, natural asset management and risk-informed planning while mentoring the next generation of planners. Through her sustained values-driven leadership, Christine continues to give back, through action, to the planning profession and the Institute.
Awards for Excellence in Planning Practice: Cities & Urban Areas
Gold: City of Vancouver for Rupert and Renfrew Station Area Plan Implementation
Silver: City of Port Moody and Schema Office of Architecture for A Guide to SSMUH (Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing) Developments
Awards for Excellence in Planning Practice: Small Town & Rural Areas
Gold: Council of Yukon First Nations, CitySpaces Consulting, Kobayashi + Zedda Architects, Ketza-Walker Joint Venture, and Connective for CYFN Family Preservation and Wellness Centre
Silver: Fraser Valley Regional District and Dialog BC for Fraser Canyon Complete Community Assessment
Honourable Mention: Sunshine Coast Regional District, School District 46 and Vancouver Coastal Health for ReMembering Youth Official Community Plan Youth Consultation on the Sunshine Coast
Awards for Excellence in Policy Planning: Cities & Urban Areas
Gold: City of Burnaby for Burnaby 2050: Official Community Plan
Silver: City of Chilliwack and MODUS Planning, Design & Engagement for Chilliwack 2050: Your City Our Future – Official Community Plan Update
Awards for Excellence in Policy Planning: Small Town & Rural Areas
Gold: City of Nelson - Development Services & Climate Leadership for Nelson 2050 - Leading the Way Together
Silver: City of Langford and Toderian UrbanWORKS for City of Langford Official Community Plan ("The Langford Plan")
Awards for Research & New Directions
Gold: Cowichan Valley Regional District (Coralie Breen, PhD, RPP, MCIP and Alison Garnett, MCP, RPP, MCIP), MODUS Planning, Design & Engagement, and Stantec for Towards a Shared Vision Island Rail Corridor CVRD
Silver: City of New Westminster, Metro Vancouver, BC Hydro, WATT Consulting Group, and Introba for Charged and Ready: EV-Ready Residential Building Experiences in BC
Honourable Mention: Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Mott MacDonald, and MODUS Planning, Design & Engagement for Stanley Park Mobility Study
Annual Student Fellowship Award Recipients
Ella Champion – Simon Fraser University, Master's of Resource Management (Planning) program
Nature-based Solutions for Wildfire Risk Reduction in the Okanagan: Challenges and Potential
Brooke Euloth – Vancouver Island University, Master of Community Planning program
A Third Place: Data Collection for Support-Based Planning
Simonne Mikolay - Simon Fraser University, Master's of Resource Management (Planning) program
Planning for Urban Water Resilience to Extreme Heat
Megan Turcato - Vancouver Island University, Master of Community Planning program
Stay Cool: Activating Downtown in a Changing Climate
Congratulations to this year’s PIBC Awards winners! For more information:
- Read the 2026 PIBC Awards winning teams and projects summaries.
- Visit the 2026 PIBC Individual Achievement Award page.
- Visit the PIBC Awards page.
- Visit the PIBC Annual Student Fellowship Award page.
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About the Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC)
Forward Thinking, Shaping Communities
The Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC) is the professional association of planners in British Columbia and the Yukon and is affiliated with the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) – the national association.
Our vision is for planning to be a trusted, influential profession fostering inclusive, resilient and thriving communities. Our forwarding thinking mission is to support, connect and advance the planning profession in BC and the Yukon through certification, ethical standards, education and advocacy.
A non-profit professional organization incorporated in 1958 under the Societies Act, our current membership includes over 2,000 members that work in both the public and private sectors in many different fields of planning including land-use and development, municipal and regional planning, policy and law, heritage conservation, transportation, environmental sustainability, social planning, First Nations community planning, and more.
PIBC Certified Members have the exclusive right and privilege to utilize the professional title 'Registered Professional Planner' and the designation 'RPP' in British Columbia and the Yukon. They also may use the designation 'MCIP' to indicate their professional status nationally as a Member with the Canadian Institute of Planners.
For more information about PIBC, visit www.pibc.bc.ca or follow us on LinkedIn.
News & Media Contact:
Cindy Cheung, PIBC Senior Communications & Marketing Specialist
t: 604-307-3968 e: cindy.cheung@pibc.bc.ca
