It’s been 10 years since Canada has had a winner in the annual Young Lions Competition at Cannes, but this year Canadians have a very good chance of taking home the gold, says Dean Black, president of communications company BLACK.

‘Canadians work in a smaller market where there tend to be smaller budgets, and so are much more creative than European and North American agencies,’ says Black of the prowess of Canadian competitors who, he adds, have a very good handle on the Internet as a creative tool.

Black is also the competition administrator for the Globe and Mail 2009 Young Lions Competition, which teams must win in order to compete in Cannes. This year, entrants can again compete in four categories: print, cyber, media and film.

The media challenge, in which a two-person team has 24 hours to develop an innovative media contact strategy, is tougher than other categories because it takes more planning and requires competitors to play different roles, says Black.

The winners in each category will be announced at stimulant‘s Shift Disturbers event on Apr. 29, and will be awarded a fully covered trip to Cannes. Last year’s winners in the media category were Paolo Pazzia and Luis Areas, interactive media planners for Marketel.

‘We’re looking for creative and new uses of media, and we’re also looking for cross-platform and innovation,’ Black tells MiC.

The deadline for registration is Mar. 13. Creative briefs will be released to registered entrants on Mar. 28 at 9 am, and the deadline for media entries is Mar. 29 at 9 am.