Benefits Canada is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards.

This year’s entry and judging process took place during the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, the annual awards welcomed more than 100 entries highlighting how leading employers are supporting their employees’ physical, mental and financial well-being.

In its sophomore year, the awards’ newest category — Coronavirus and benefits — received the most entries and was split into two based on company size. In addition, the mental-health category saw another year of record entries, so we’ve also divided it into two based on company size, alongside the categories for health and wellness programs.

Read: Who are the winners of the 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards?

The winners will be announced on Thurs., Oct. 14 in a virtual format with a featured online news story running the following day on BenefitsCanada.com and through Benefits Canada‘s social media channels — the Benefits Canada page on Facebook, the Benefits Canada page on LinkedIn and @BenCanMag on Twitter. The winners will also be featured in the December issue of the print magazine.

This year’s finalists are:

Coronavirus and benefits (>5,000 employees):

  • Beneva
  • MNP LLP
  • Shopify Inc.

Coronavirus and benefits (<5,000 employees):

  • CIBC Mellon
  • Fidelity Investments Canada
  • SSENSE
  • Unilever Canada Inc.

Mental health (>5,000 employees):

  • Air Canada
  • Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Ltd.
  • LifeLabs

Mental health (<5,000 employees):

  • 3M Canada
  • CIBC Mellon
  • CSA Group

Diversity program:

  • Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Ltd.
  • Fidelity Investments Canada
  • LifeLabs
  • Unilever Canada Inc.

Health and wellness (>1,000 employees):

  • 3M Canada
  • CAA Club Group
  • IGM Financial Inc.
  • LifeLabs
  • Ubisoft

Health and wellness (<1,000 employees):

  • CSA Group
  • Ottawa Community Housing Corp.
  • Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Benefits plan communications:

  • AECOM
  • BNP Paribas
  • SSENSE

Pension plan communications:

  • Scotiabank
  • SSENSE
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific Canada

Financial wellness program:

  • Canadian Forest Products Ltd.
  • Scotiabank
  • SEIU Healthcare

Read: New financial wellness category added as Workplace Benefits Awards opens for entries

Benefits Canada would like to thank our sponsors Eli Lilly, Express Scripts and Novo Nordisk for their support of the awards.

We’d also like to thank the panel of judges that helped select this year’s finalists and winners: Katharine Coons, national workplace mental health specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association; Wendy Cukier, founder of the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University; Melissa Dunne, managing editor of Benefits Canada; Jean-Guy Gauthier, expert in risk and benefits management at CQFD Actuariat; Chuck Grace, Western University’s finance faculty and program manager at Canada’s Financial Wellness Lab; Jordan Fremont, partner in the pensions and benefits team at Bennett Jones LLP; Julie Holden, principal at Holden & Associates; Marilee Mark, president of Marilee Mark Consulting; Jennifer Paterson, editor of Benefits Canada; and Lizann Reitmeier, associate director at Willis Towers Watson.

Read: Meet the judges of the 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards

Special thanks also goes out to four of last year’s winners who took part in this year’s awards judging: Karin Adams, vice-president of talent and total rewards at TMX Group Ltd.; Ayman Alvi, director of global benefits at Scotiabank; Laura Glenn, wellness program manager for North America at Ericsson; and Nicole Quintal, communications manager at the Co-operative Superannuation Society pension plan.

Congratulations again to all the finalists.