History

Established with the guidance of Britain in Bloom, Tidy Towns of Ireland and Villes et Villages Fleuris de France, National Communities in Bloom held its first edition in 1995 and, at the end of the 1995 season, 29 participating Canadian municipalities were honoured at the first awards ceremonies on Parliament Hill. Manitoba was represented by Brandon, Morden, Morris, and Winnipeg.

As participation increased, provincial editions were developed requiring communities to compete at the provincial level in order to qualify for national competition. In several provinces, administration of the provincial editions was taken over by Communities in Bloom organizations from within each province. In 1999, Ken Ivey and Brenda Cameron became the first two Manitoba volunteer co-chairs and administered the program in Manitoba for ten years. In spring of 2008, the office moved to Birtle, Manitoba, with Shonda Ashcroft as Coordinator. In 2012 and 2013 respectively, founding co-chairs, Ken Ivey and Brenda Cameron, announced their retirement from the Manitoba Communities in Bloom Board.

Currently, the MB CiB is administered by a part-time program coordinator and a volunteer board. Since 1999, over 60 Manitoba communities have participated in the program.

Nationally, the program now includes more than 500 communities across the country and an international challenge involving communities from the United States, Japan and several European countries.