Ontario Tourism has launched the contest as part of its 2015-16 Ray Mears Adventure Campaign. In October, the board announced Ray Mears– 'an authority on the subject of bushcraft and survival'-as its adventure travel spokesperson for 2015.

This partnership will help build awareness of the variety of world-class adventure itineraries that can be experienced in the province. We are featuring 2 categories on the website, for the novice adventurer we recommend the Classic Canadian experiences, and for the more experienced adventure travel enthusiasts the Epic Adventures. The contest is an effort to connect such enthusiasts with all the exciting opportunities Ontario holds.

Ray Mears: “Wabakimi is a stunning provincial park, nearly 9000 square kilometers of pristine wilderness that in every way epitomizes the Canadian Canoe Experience. Here our competition winners will find spruce forest, granite and endless, gin clear, waters. Travelling by canoe is all about achieving harmony with nature.

I will introduce the party to many ancient skills of boreal travel. Skills that make life more comfortable but also remind us how important the natural resources around us truly are.

And from the experience of many such journeys made, I can attest that when our pilgrimage is over, we will feel unburdened of more than just our packs. Our spirit will feel cleansed and refreshed, we will carry away a host of wonderful memories, and part of us will always be bound to Wabakimi, to Ontario and to Canada.”

“We are delighted to be working with Ray Mears as our spokesperson. His love of Ontario and Canada combined with his unrivalled experience in the extreme adventure field make him the ideal person to showcase the beauty of the region. This competition is truly one of a kind and those lucky winners will be privileged to travel with Ray and experience the stunning wilderness of Northern Ontario for themselves with the ideal guide!". Puja Khanna, PR Manager Ontario Tourism UK.

Reaching well over 6 million consumers, utilising both print and digital channels Ontario Tourism will be working with numerous printed magazines, several national newspapers and websites, the biggest Adventure and outdoor retailer in the UK - Cotswold Outdoor, the best provider of outdoor mapping - Garmin, newsletter partners delivering over 2.6 million e-mails, competition promotion at 7 key Outdoor Travel events, on social media through 9 partners reaching over 1.5 million followers and delivering 650,000 web impressions. The campaign will have strong presence at the top outdoor event in the UK - Keswick Mountain Festival (including attendance by Ray Mears himself), plus stands at the two biggest indoor shows - Adventure travel show at Olympia and Active Travel Show at the Excel– the entire campaign is worth £300,000.

The contest will be open for entry from 15 th December 2014 to 31st May 2015. Further details and the online entry forms can be found on Ontario Tourism's Adventure site, www.ontariotravel.net/ukadventure.

Notes to Editors

A successful press trip to Wabakimi took place in September 2014. There were 10 attending the trip including two journalists from the UK.

A short video clip about this trip is available on: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYUlTt5qwTkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYUlTt5qwTk

About Ontario www.ontariotravel.net/uk www.ontariotravel.net/ukadventure

The province of Ontario is located in east-central Canada and is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and five U.S. states to the south. With a population of more than 13 million, Ontario is home to one in three Canadians and is one of Canada's largest provinces, covering more than one million square kilometres (415,000 square miles). Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is Canada's largest city. It is also the commercial, industrial and financial centre of Canada. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario. Ontario is home to 400,000 lakes and rivers, with the Great Lakes Ontario contains twenty percent of the world's fresh water.

About Ray Mears www.raymears.com

Over the past two decades the name Ray Mears has become recognised throughout the world as an authority on the subject of Bushcraft and Survival. He has also become a household name through his various television series including Tracks, World of Survival, Trips Money Can't Buy with Ewan McGregor, the Real Heroes of Telemark, Wild Britain, How the Wild West Was Won and many more. Ray has just finished filming a new series called Ray Mears Wilderness Walks for ITV 1 which will be screened this Autumn.

About Air Canada

Award-winning Air Canada is providing two Economy flights for the competition prize. Return Economy flights from London Heathrow to Thunder Bay start from £573.56 including taxes this winter (for booking until 23 December 2014). Air Canada offers five flights a day from Toronto to Thunder Bay, which are conveniently timed for UK customers to connect at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Air Canada offers more daily flights from the UK to Canada than any other airline, with up to 63 non-stop flights per week to seven major Canadian cities scheduled this winter. From London Heathrow, the airline operates four services per day to Toronto and daily services to Montréal, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver, plus frequent services to Halifax and St. John's. Air Canada is operating new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on select flights from London Heathrow to Toronto during the 2014-15 winter season, offering a brand-new Premium Economy option for those looking for more comfort and space. Find out more at www.aircanada.com or call Reservations on 0871 220 1111.

Competition details

The competition is open to all that come to the website. The competition will be promoted through a number of pre-agreed channels including niche magazines, through online marketing, In-store activity and Adventure travel events such as The Adventure Travel show. Full terms and conditions are available on the website.

Applicants will be able to enter the competition at the dedicated website for the campaign: www.ontariotravel.net/ukadventure