Welland Canal - courtesy of Info Niagra

Rideau Canal - courtesy of Ken Watson

The Rideau canal was truly a Canadian canal. Rather than stick to traditional European techniques, Canadian engineers had to creatively adapt the canal construction to withstand the harsh conditions found in Canada. The Welland canal also furthered engineering in Canada. When the government took over the building of the canal, it was decided to bring in engineering expertise from the civil service to assist the civilian engineers. This is now known as "sourcing".

As the cities grew in population, the threat of disease and fire also grew. Around the middle of the 19th century, many of the major cities were forced to start designing and building water and sewer systems.

Railway building proved to be a challenge to Canadian engineers with terrain that was sometimes difficult and climate conditions that varied widely. Engineers learned to build railways quickly and inexpensively using mostly local building materials. Usually this meant building with timber. This wooden trestle crosses the Illecillewaet River. The picture was taken in 1897. Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. NG-4-255 courtesy of Jan Booth - Canadian Pacific in the Selkirks

Originally, Canadian engineering students worked as apprentices under engineering professionals, gaining practical experience along with the academics. Later these students were termed "engineers-in-training". The first engineering school was established in 1854 at what is now the University of New Brunswick.

In 1867, the BNA (British North American Act) was passed and regulation of the professions for the protection of the public was transferred to the provinces.

The Canadian Society of Civil Engineers was formed in 1887. This was the first step toward making engineering in Canada a profession with strict licensing and high standards. 288 engineers from all existing disciplines were members of the CSCE in 1887.

In 1918 the name of the CSCE was changed to the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) so that it could represent all the engineering disciplines. In the 1920s the EIC encouraged the provinces to set up self-governing groups of professional engineers. Many of these are still in existence.

The Canadian tradition of the "Iron Ring Ceremony" was developed by a civil engineer and professor at the University of Toronto and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2000. In 1922, Professor Herbert Haultain suggested that all members of the country's engineering profession should be linked. With the assistance of Rudyard Kipling, he developed an oath and a ceremony which is administered to all new members of the profession, the ritual of the "calling of an engineer". In 1970, Dr. John Jonas, an engineer, suggested using steel instead of iron for the engineering ring. "The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer" PowerPoint Presentation courtesy of Tony Howard, PEng - University of Calgary

The EIC started encouraging the formation of technical divisions within the Institute and eventually recommended that the technical division be give autonomy (self-government). In 1970 the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering was approved. Then came the Canadian Geotechnical Society in 1972 along with the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, (CSCE).

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Associated Sites:

The Iron Ring - Short history & contacts for each of the 25 Canadian Camps

The National History Committee of the CSCE