MONTREAL, Nov. 18, 2016 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) today announced it has received the 2016 Best Overall Corporate Governance award for publicly-listed companies from the Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC).

CN received the award this week during the GPC's fourth annual Excellence in Governance Awards ceremony in Toronto recognizing leadership in corporate governance best practices.

"CN has always recognized the importance of good governance and their governance practices are truly integrated in their business operations and are not viewed in isolation," the GPC awards panel said. "CN has consistently been at the top of the class since governance assessments started in the early 2000s."

Sean Finn, CN executive vice-president of corporate services and chief legal officer said: "CN is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen in every aspect of what we do. We strongly believe that good corporate governance is good business, and we are honoured to have been recognized for our efforts and dedication in this very important area."

The GPC represents governance professionals across Canada and is one of the country's leading advocates of good corporate governance.  The awards underscore the critical role that good governance plays in sustaining the value of Canada's public companies, crown corporations, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations.

CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries – serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the Company's website at www.cn.ca.

SOURCE CN