TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 25, 2014) - Canadian Immigrant magazine has officially begun the voting stage for the sixth annual RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. The program serves to uncover and celebrate the inspiring stories of Canadian immigrants who have made a significant contribution to Canada since their arrival. The program draws nominations from across Canada and is proudly supported by the title sponsor RBC Royal Bank and associate sponsor Chevrolet.

A call for nominations garnered more than 630 entries over the past two months. The nominations were reviewed by a diverse judging panel, comprised of several past winners and contributors to the magazine. The judges had the difficult task of sorting through hundreds of worthy nominations to determine a shortlist of 75 inspiring immigrants, who represent diverse ethnic communities, cities and industries across Canada.

"This is the sixth year of our awards, and it just gets better every year." says Margaret Jetelina, editor of Canadian Immigrant. "The calibre of the shortlisted nominees this year is as impressive as ever. From entrepreneurs to community leaders to artists, the top 75 is an inspiring bunch and it's now up to the public to vote and help us choose the Top 25 of 2014."

Canadians can now vote for up to three of their favourite finalists online at www.canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 until May 15, 2014.

"The RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant awards recognize outstanding individuals from diverse communities who enrich Canada and make it a better place to live. We encourage all Canadians to support and vote for these extraordinary individuals who are making a difference in their country and communities." said Christine Shisler, director, Multicultural Markets, RBC. "It will be tough to choose, given the incredible nominees we've seen this year, and we are very excited to see the end result."

More than 30,000 Canadians voted in last year's awards program. The winners included: basketball star Steve Nash, Justice Michael Tulloch, who is the first black judge appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal; dancer/choreographer Wen Wei Wang; and many more!

Returning this year, associate sponsor Chevrolet will recognize one of the 25 winners with the Chevrolet Ingenuity Award, designed to recognize exceptional creativity and skills on the road to success.

"The Canadians recognized by the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards are passionate, innovative and resourceful," said Paul Bailey, advertising integration and launch manager for Chevrolet in Canada. "At Chevrolet, we are proud to celebrate these remarkable individuals and their ability, their accomplishments and hope they will continue to inspire others to reach for their dreams."

The Top 25 winners will be announced in June 2014, at the end of the voting phase, and will be recognized on canadianimmigrant.ca and in Canadian Immigrant magazine. They will also receive a commemorative plaque and $500 toward a charity of their choice provided by RBC.

This year's media partners are the Toronto Star, Metro, Sing Tao and South Asian Focus.

About Canadian Immigrant and canadianimmigrant.ca

Attracting more than 400,000 readers each month and over 100,000 visitors every 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 content for newcomers looking for information on careers, education and settling-in to culture and business. Our website, www.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 www.wheels.ca, www.goldbook.ca, www.flyerland.ca and www.localwork.ca.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, and one of 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, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 42 other countries. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed more than $104 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $69 million and $35 million in sponsorships. Learn more at www.rbc.com/community-sustainability.

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.