Athlete, Musicians, Artists and Community Leaders Among the Winners of the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 20, 2013) - NBA All-Star and philanthropist Steve Nash, dancer and choreographer Wen Wei Wang, physician and activist Izzeldin Abuelaish and other community leaders from across Canada are among the winners of the fifth annual 2013 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant awards, presented by Canadian Immigrant Magazine. The awards celebrate the inspiring stories and achievements of immigrants to Canada.

"These 25 award winners are a diverse group, ranging from artists to philanthropists to entrepreneurs from a variety of ethnicities across the country," says Margaret Jetelina, editor of Canadian Immigrant Magazine. "Each of these winners has an inspiring story about overcoming challenges and making their country a better place to live. We are proud to present our top 25 award to these very deserving recipients."

Over 600 nominations were received in just two months, from which 75 finalists were shortlisted by a panel of judges comprised of past winners and dignitaries. More than 30,000 votes were cast online, the highest number received in the award's history.

The Top 25 winners will be honoured at awards ceremonies on June 20 in Toronto and on June 26 in Vancouver. The program is proudly supported by title sponsor RBC Royal Bank and associate sponsor Chevrolet. The awards program is also supported by the Toronto Star, Metro, Sing Tao, CBC Toronto and South Asian Focus.

"These winners are role models, not just for new Canadians, but for all Canadians who will be inspired by the valuable contribution these individuals have made to their communities," said Paul Sy, director, Multicultural Markets, RBC. "These extraordinary individuals are living proof that anyone can make a difference and contribute to the rich fabric of Canadian life."

The RBC Top 25 award winners will receive a commemorative plaque and a $500 donation towards a registered Canadian charity of their choice. Winners will be featured on canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 and in the July print edition of Canadian Immigrant Magazine.

This year, Associate sponsor Chevrolet will recognize one of the 25 winners with the Chevrolet Ingenuity Award for showing exceptional creativity and skill on his or her road to success. The winner will be announced at the Toronto ceremony on June 20.

"The Canadians recognized by the RBC Top 25 Immigrant Awards are passionate, innovative and resourceful," said Marc Comeau, vice president, sales, service and marketing for General Motors of Canada. "At Chevrolet, we are proud to celebrate these remarkable individuals and their ability to inspire others to reach for their dreams."

About Canadian Immigrant and canadianimmigrant.ca

Attracting more than 287,000 readers each month and over 60,000 unique visits a month online, Canadian Immigrant is distributed in Toronto and Vancouver and helps new Canadians build a successful life and home in Canada. Its mandate to inform, educate and motivate provides easy-to-access content for newcomers looking for information from careers, education and settling in to culture and business. Our website, canadianimmigrant.ca, offers daily editorial, forums, tools and resources to help newcomers across Canada. Canadian Immigrant is a division of Metroland Media Group, a dynamic media company with more than 100 community and daily newspapers in print and online, as well as innovative websites including wheels.ca, goldbook.ca, flyerland.ca and localwork.ca.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, and investor services and wholesale banking on a global basis. We employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed more than $95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in sponsorships.

About Chevrolet in Canada

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.ca, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chevroletcanada or by following @ChevroletCanada on Twitter.