Georgetown, P.E.I., in the running for Great Places in Canada title

The AA Memorial Gardens in Georgetown, P.E.I., is vying for the title of great public space in the 2015 Great Places in Canada contest.

It's a way of not just having pride in your hometown but also recognizing those places across the country that make Canada special.- Samantha Murphy, P.E.I. manager of municipal affairs

The contest, run by the Canadian Institute of Planners, awards three prizes — for great street, great neighbourhood and great public space — to exceptional places each year.

"One of the first things you do when you travel when you come home is tell people about the places you've seen that really struck a chord," P.E.I. manager of municipal affairs Samantha Murphy told Mainstreet host Karen Mair.

"So it's a way of not just having pride in your hometown but also recognizing those places across the country that make Canada special."

Murphy said the contest is an opportunity for Canadians to engage in the concept of planning the great places in their communities.

"I think that any time you get people talking about their communities, you see the excitement in their own eyes, that sense of pride that they start to show," she said.

"To me it speaks of the love and the investment, the emotional investment, that people have in their place and their community. It's a way of making spaces where people feel comfortable interacting, getting out of their homes and their places of work and interacting with other people, and it's really a sign that the place means something to people."

Twenty-nine spaces from Revelstoke, B.C., to Witless Bay, N.L., have been nominated.

A jury of professional planners will name the winners on Nov. 4, 2015.

Residents can also help their favourite spaces win people's choice by casting ballots. More than 23,000 votes have already been cast. Voting ends on Sept. 24.