Hope all is going well in your various engagements and that you will have some wonderful holiday time in the weeks to come.

As you prepare your response to Challenge #1 (organizing a community event and finding an advocate) we wanted to supply you with a rough timeline of things to come. We know that everyone has very hectic schedules, so please make note of these key dates moving forward.

Important Dates:

January 2nd (midnight):

Challenge #1 comes to a close. All competitors must have a record of their event along with their advocate statement in to the CNGPM team.

January 10th:

10 Semi-finalists are announced online and are given Challenge #2.

Challenge #2:

Swing the Vote As always, all challenges are intended to parallel the political process. In the style of a leadership convention, the 10 semi-finalists are asked to go back to the online community of applicants on YouTube and Facebook and ask them to throw their support behind them. There will be a 72-hour window for this challenge. Supporters simply send a private e-mail to the CNGPM team with the name of the semi-finalist they are supporting. It will close midnight on January 13th.

*Please note. We created this challenge to honour the entire applicant pool. The work you have done so far shows incredible commitment and intelligence. Your influence matters and will be a deciding factor in who goes forward.

January 15th:

8 Finalists announced online. These 8 will come to the CNGPM Bootcamp in Toronto.

February 2nd to 4th:

Bootcamp. The finalists come to Toronto where their performance will determine the Final 4 at the end of the bootcamp.

February 5th:

Prep Day and Rehearsals.

February 6th:

Competition night. The Final 4 are on stage with the Prime Ministers and in the final vote by a nationally representative audience, one will win the title Canada's Next Great Prime Minister and the cash prize of $50,000.

March 2008:

Show airs.

A review of the prizing:

• Winner: $50,000 and a 6-month prestigious Magna-Fulbright-Dominion paid internship. $3000/month.
• Runners Up: $5000 each and a 3-month prestigious Magna-Fulbright-Dominion paid internship. $3000/month.

We hope that the planning for your response to challenge #1 is going well. We are all looking forward to seeing what you come up with. E-mail Matthew_Barrington@cbc.ca with your plans in advance. We'll send crews out to film some of the community events and need some notice. If we can't get there, please do your best to get some home video recording of your event. Make sure you take ownership and have it represent what you stand for. Encourage people involved with your event to visit your YouTube application and Facebook sites to learn more about your great ideas for the nation and the work you've already done.

This will be your final opportunity to impress the judges before the semi-finalist selection is made. Take advantage of it and solidify you chance to become Canada's Next Great Prime Minister.

And stay tuned for the newsletter next week when we'll be sending out a questionnaire for you to fill out and return.

Good Luck!
Canada's Next Great Prime Minister Team