Canada's History recently announced 22 winners who have been selected to travel to Ottawa for a special Youth Forum. The winners will arrive in Ottawa on Thursday, October 30 and will spend three days exploring the capital region together.

The national contest was held over the summer months with a panel of judges and online voting used to determine the winners. Two students from BC, both from Vancouver schools, were chosen to go to Ottawa with their projects. 

Dylan Lee, a Grade 7 student at Edith Cavell Elementary, researched the Chinese Head tax for his project and discovered a personal connection to one of Canada's darker moments in history.

"My great grandfather came here with nothing," says Lee. "But he didn't give up and end[ed] up owning a house in Shaughnessy. And, my Grandfather on my mom's side of the family lost everything but still managed to buy a house and raise a family of five." 

"My wife and I are both VSB teachers," says Greg Lee, a Killarney Secondary School teacher and Dylan's dad. "And we are also thankful for the opportunities that Edith Cavell and the district have provided our kids."

Alexandra Mines, whose project Les R�fugi�s Ind�sirables du Canada garnered her a top place as well, also says that the project gave her a better understanding of her family history and her own connection to Canada.

"De ce projet, j'ai appris l'importance de l'honn�tet� et de la d�termination. Si mes grands-parents avaient abandonn�s leur espoir de venir au Canada, je ne serais pas ici aujourd'hui," she says. "Ils ont continu� la bataille car ils �taient d�termin�s, ma grand-mère, de retrouver sa famille, et mon grand-père, de recommencer sa vie."

Mines competed with her project while attending French Immersion at General Gordon Elementary, and she is now in Grade 8 at Van Tech Secondary.

To watch a video on Dylan's project CLICK HERE

To watch a video on Alexandra's project CLICK HERE