Salmon Arm’s giant treble clef named Canada’s top landmark
The giant treble clef sculpture in Salmon Arm, B.C., has been named Canada’s top landmark for 2025. The 45-foot-tall sculpture was announced on Oct. 18 as the winner of Municipal World’s 2025 Great Canadian Landmark Contest. Photo: City of Salmon Arm
The giant treble clef sculpture in Salmon Arm, B.C., has been named Canada’s top landmark for 2025.
The 45-foot-tall sculpture was announced on Oct. 18 as the winner of Municipal World’s 2025 Great Canadian Landmark Contest. The treble clef, created by local developer Bill Laird, was first unveiled in November 2019.
Salmon Arm sits on the southern shore of Shuswap Lake, within the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, about 110 kilometres north of Kelowna and 109 kilometres east of Kamloops.
The sculpture received 1,453 votes (out of 2,729 total), outpacing the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre (387 votes) in New Denver, B.C., and the Wawa Goose (211 votes) in Wawa, Ont.
Celebration of Pride and Music
The announcement took place during the 31st annual Communities in Bloom (CiB) Symposium and Awards gala, which was held this year in Stratford, Ont. The event drew more than 150 attendees, including municipal leaders and community advocates from across the country, as well as international delegates from Italy, Belgium, and Ireland.
In a video message, Salmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison expressed pride and gratitude.
“On behalf of the residents of Salmon Arm, we are so excited to accept the Municipal World magazine’s Great Canadian Landmark Contest victory today,” Harrison said. “We know there’s many great landmarks across our country, so we feel very humbled to be voted the No. 1 landmark in the country for this year, and we graciously accept that.”
The treble clef sculpture – made of bright orange aluminum – celebrates music, community, and local artistry.
As Harrison pointed out in his remarks, the sculpture incorporates the opening bar of “O Canada.” This feature, Harrison added, is one of the reasons he believes the sculpture has resonated with residents and tourists alike.
“One of the reasons this is so appealing to people is because, presently, we are very nationalistic … people come to the landmark here, both residents and visitors, to get their picture underneath it – to take a look at it,” he said. “We are a music city. We’re a small city with very big ideas.”
Contest Recognition and Reach
Accepting the award on Harrison’s behalf was Darlene Kalawsky, a CiB board member from British Columbia. Adina Chirita, Municipal World’s manager of brand and project strategy, made the announcement.
The treble clef has been praised for its artistic impact and cultural resonance. Municipal World CEO Anthony Gibbons described it as “a modern-day symbol of creativity, unity, and Canadian pride.”
Gibbons also lauded the impact local landmarks have across the country. “Every community has something that makes it special, and through this contest, we aim to shine a light on those unique places that bring people together.”
The Great Canadian Landmark Contest is organized annually by Municipal World to celebrate the people, places, and symbols that define Canadian communities. The contest invites Canadians to nominate and vote for their favourite landmarks that inspire civic pride, tell local stories, and reflect the country’s cultural and historical heritage.
There were 82 entries in this year’s contest – up from 76 entries the year before. There were nominations spanning across the country, with submissions ranging from British Columbia (Salmon Arm Treble Clef, Leigh Square Fountain, The PoCo Climb, Doukhobor Discovery Centre, Terex Titan, and the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre) to the East in Newfoundland and Labrador (Topsail Bluff, and Mariners’ Memorial).
In total, eight provinces were represented: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. MW
✯ Municipal World Executive and Essentials Plus Members: You might also be interested in Brian Arnott and David Paterson’s article: It takes a village: Exploring built form character in Chester, N.S.
Related resource materials: