Pictured: Leo Burnett’s Judy John accepts Agency of the Year Gold in 2015.

Drum roll, please.

The esteemed jury has examined the collection of high-quality work submitted by top agencies, and the shortlist for strategy‘s 2016 Agency of the Year is in. Below are the shops in the running for the top prize at our awards gala on Nov. 8 in Toronto.

For tickets and more information, visit the website or contact Joel Pinto at jpinto@brunico.com or 416.408.2300 ext. 650.

The shortlist for Media Agency of the Year was announced Monday, and the lists for Digital Agency of the Year and PR Agency of the Year will follow this week.

2016 AOY shortlist:

BBDO

Bensimon Byrne/OneMethod

Bleublancrouge

Cossette

DDB/Tribal Worldwide

Grey

John St.

J. Walter Thompson

Leo Burnett

Lg2

Rethink

Taxi

Zulu Alpha Kilo

2016 AOY jury:

Alyssa Altman, VP, SapientNitro

Eric Alper, CMO, Frank and Oak

Hope Bagozzi, senior director of national marketing, McDonald’s

Darren Clarke, CCO, McCann Canada

Mary DePaoli, EVP and CMO, RBC

Andrea Graham, senior marketing executive, Leon’s

Sean Hazell, VP of brand and innovation strategy, Idea Couture

Shannon Hosford, VP of marketing and communications, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE)

Lisa Kimmel, president and CEO, Edelman

Diane Laberge, director of marketing, Unilever

David Lui, VP of marketing, Mark’s

Caroline Losson, VP of marketing, Keurig

Brian Sheppard, EVP and executive creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi

Martin Shewchuk, former creative chairman emeritus, JWT

Anestis Vassiliades, executive creative director, Havas Worldwide Canada

Milos Vranesevic, VP and head of marketing, Mastercard