Town of Aurora Achieves Excellence Canada Platinum Certification – A First in the Country

Aurora, ON – The Town of Aurora is proud to announce it has been awarded Platinum certification from Excellence Canada, the highest level of recognition offered by the national authority on quality and healthy workplaces.

This prestigious milestone places the Town of Aurora among a select group of organizations across the country that are setting the bar for service excellence, continuous improvement, and building a thriving workplace culture.

Specifically, the Town achieved Platinum under the Organizational Excellence Standard (OES), a comprehensive framework that measures leadership, planning, customer experience, people engagement, and process innovation. The Town is the first municipality to ever achieve OES Platinum.

The Town’s Platinum award marks the culmination of a 15-year journey that began in 2010, when the Town established continuous improvement as a strategic priority. Since then, the Town has steadily advanced through the Excellence Canada framework: Bronze (2014), Silver (2019), Gold (2022), and now Platinum (2025).

The Town’s submission highlighted progress across the organization, including:

• Major community investments such as Aurora Town Square, the SARC expansion, new parks and trails, and upgrades to roads and other infrastructure.
• Improved financial planning and accountability, with stronger systems for tracking results and ensuring long-term sustainability.
• Enhanced service delivery and customer experience, through new tools for residents to access information, provide feedback, and connect with the Town.
• A stronger workplace culture, with updated leadership programs, employee recognition, engagement surveys, and expanded professional development opportunities.
• Commitment to inclusion and accessibility, with ongoing accessibility assessments and training to strengthen equity and understanding across the organization.
• Environmental leadership, through the Cultural and Environmental Action Plans and continued investment in sustainable practices.

“Achieving Platinum Certification is a tremendous honour for the Town of Aurora and a testament to the dedicated work of our staff,” said Doug Nadorozny, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer. “This recognition demonstrates our commitment to strengthening the organization, improving the services we provide, and building a culture of excellence that benefits both staff and our entire community.”

Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas added: “This is an incredible achievement for our Town and for the entire community. To be the first municipality in Canada to reach OES Platinum certification from Excellence Canada is something we can all be proud of. It shows what can happen when Council provides clear direction, and our staff bring their best every day to deliver results. This recognition isn’t just about organizational excellence, it’s also about making sure community members are receiving the very best programs and services.”

As Canada’s national authority on quality and healthy workplace practices, Excellence Canada has created a uniquely Canadian model that provides organizations with measurable standards and objective validation through its certification programs. Since its inception in 1992, Excellence Canada has helped thousands of organizations in Canada, across many industries, implement continual quality improvement systems and employee wellness strategies.

The Town of Aurora will officially receive the Platinum award from Excellence Canada in November.