On the first night the Canadian Online Publishing Awards were given out, The Tyee was the big winner, taking three top prizes in the categories of Best Website Design, Best News, and Best Community Feature.

The awards recognize “excellence in online editorial and innovation by Canadian magazine and website publishers” according to MastheadOnline, which produced the premier event held in Toronto Monday evening.

The redesigned Tyee website, designed by Vancouver-based Biro Creative and implemented this summer by Kineticode, was judged Best Overall Design. Other finalists included This Magazine, Green Living and Up Here.

In the online-only News category, The Tyee edged out Torontoist.

The winning Tyee entry in the Community Feature category was Green Your Campbell Cash, a site that keyed off the carbon tax rebate of $100 received by every British Columbian. Green Your Campbell Cash allowed visitors to post climate change fighting initiatives seeking support, or to post a statement about how they were going to spend their $100 in ‘Campbell Cash’ to take action against global warming.

Green Your Campbell Cash was a joint effort partnering The Tyee with the David Suzuki Foundation, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee and the Pembina Institute.

St. Joseph Media was another big winner of the evening, nabbing three top prizes for three online publications in its stable: Torontolife.com, Fashionmagazine.com, and the 20-Minute Supper Club.

Vancouver-based Granville Online won a prize for its series on eco-fashion.

In all, 18 websites were named best in Canada, selected by an independent panel of professionals and experts from more than 250 entries.

"There are many awards for online marketing and advertising but very few for online publishing with original editorial content," said Masthead publisher Doug Bennet, whose publication covers the magazine industry. "We wanted to recognize the outstanding work done by editorially driven publishers, including publishers of online-only publications. Masthead is pleased to produce this first-ever event for the publishing community, and we congratulate all the winners. Your sites rock."

“All the contenders for this new award show the Canadian online scene is very vibrant and getting better all the time,” said Tyee editor David Beers. “On behalf of everyone who contributes their efforts to The Tyee, I’m pleased and grateful for this recognition for our journalism, design and community engagement.”

Other awards bestowed upon The Tyee this year include the Edward R. Murrow award and the Canadian Excellence in Journalism Award.