Online Videos and Contest Offer Youth Chance to Get Financially Fit and Win Big

Organization

Montreal - Young Canadians are invited to take part in the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) ?Financial Fitness Challenge', an online contest that uses videos, Facebook and Twitter tips to help youth get financially fit. The contest is aimed at helping youth increase their financial literacy and offers them the chance to win an Apple® iPad or a grand prize of $2,000.

The Financial Fitness Challenge, FinancialFitnessChallenge.ca, runs from February 15 to April 15, 2011 and uses interactive tools and scenarios to raise awareness of important financial concepts such as balancing needs versus wants, budgeting, saving and investing. This year, visitors to the site will see four new entertaining and informative videos on budgeting, credit cards, investing and investment fraud.

"With close to 60,000 youth actively participating in the challenge over the past four years, the CSA has presented financial literacy education in a format that resonates with youth," said Bill Rice, Chair of the CSA and Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Securities Commission. "We encourage parents and teachers to continue to develop financial literacy skills in youth by using the Challenge as a fun and informative learning tool."

The bilingual contest is open to Canadians ages 15 to 21 and offers youth the opportunity to invite friends to join the Challenge, and to compete and engage with contest participants at a local and national level. Classroom materials including lesson plans are available to download from the Teacher and Parent Resource Centre FinancialFitnessChallenge.ca/Teachers.

At the close of the contest, 13 entries - one from each province and territory - will be randomly selected from eligible participants to win an Apple® iPad, and one national grand prize winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship.

The CSA, the council of securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

- 30 -

For more information:

CSA member name

Point of contact

Phone number

Alberta Securities Commission

Mark Dickey

403-297-4481

Autorité des marchés financiers

Sylvain Théberge

514-940-2176

British Columbia Securities Commission

Ken Gracey

604-899-6577

Financial Services Regulation Div. Newfoundland and Labrador

Doug Connolly

709-729-2594

Manitoba Securities Commission

Ainsley Cunningham

204-945-4733

New Brunswick Securities Commission

Wendy Connors-Beckett

506-643-7745

Northwest Territories Securities Office

Donn MacDougall

867-920-8984

Nova Scotia Securities Commission

Natalie MacLellan

902-424-8586

Nunavut Securities Office

Louis Arki

867-975-6587

Ontario Securities Commission

Carolyn Shaw-Rimmington

416-593-2361

PEI Securities Office, Office of the Attorney General

Linda Peters

902-368-4552

Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission

Barbara Shourounis

306-787-5842

Yukon Securities Registry

Graham Lang

867-667-5466

Additional news