If you know a Canadian engineer, you may have noticed them wearing a ring on their pinky finger. Far from a fashion accessory, the iron ring symbolizes an obligation, or verbal commitment, that engineering graduates make—a tradition known as The Calling of an Engineer. The Obligation Ceremony has been modernized and updated in honour of its 100th anniversary this year.
Creating the obligation
In 1907, a bridge over the St. Lawrence River west of Quebec City collapsed during construction. Seventy-six workers were killed, many of them Mohawk from Kahnawake, near Montreal. The collapse was caused by flawed design and human arrogance: several engineers, including the designer and the on-site lead, ignored or refuted workers’ concerns.
Herbert Haultain, a mining engineer and University of Toronto professor, made it his priority to prevent a similar disaster from occurring again in Canada. He believed the way to do this was to invite new engineering graduates to make a formal obligation, or commitment, to conduct themselves professionally, uphold the highest ethical principles, and remember their responsibility to society.
In 1922, he proposed his idea at the Engineering Institute of Canada’s annual meeting and received a positive response. A committee of seven past presidents of the Institute was formed to champion what became The Calling of an Engineer.
Haultain invited British author Rudyard Kipling, who referred to engineers in several of his poems, to write the text for the obligation ceremony. He agreed, and also proposed the design of the iron ring, with rough facets that symbolize the challenges engineers face during their careers.
On April 25, 1925, six engineering graduates were the first to take the obligation at an inaugural ceremony held in Montreal, and each received the iron ring that has become a symbol of engineering in Canada.
Unique to Canada, the Obligation Ceremony is an important step on the journey to becoming an engineer. The ceremony is overseen by the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, successors to the committee formed in 1925, and 28 groups across Canada, called camps, hold ceremonies for graduating engineering students.
Why the iron ring matters
The iron ring is worn on the pinky finger of the working hand: right if the engineer is right-handed and left if they are left-handed. Leonard Shara, Chief Warden of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, says there’s a good reason for that.
“Many times a day, when you are using that hand, whether it's to type on the computer, to sign a document, to point out something, to work with tools—it's a constant reminder to you of that obligation, that at every given moment of your working life and personal life, you commit to doing the best you can, to protect society, to not pass bad materials or workmanship, and to support your colleagues.”
“The ring represents this commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity in our profession and public safety and hold each other to account,” says Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. “Engineers are entrusted with the power to shape the world we live in, and it is their duty to ensure their work benefits humanity and protects the well-being of all, including not just people but all life on this planet.”
While taking the obligation is not mandatory, Wells says for most of the students she sees, it’s an important part of becoming an engineer.
“It’s a collective celebration, because engineering is one of those degrees where they work together to get through it. For many of them, it’s like their graduation. They feel this is more meaningful for them than actual convocation,” says Wells.
Kalena McCloskey, President of the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students and a third-year engineering student at Queen’s University, says she’s looking forward to her Obligation Ceremony next year.
“What I'm excited for is the pride in the engineering profession that comes with receiving the ring, and having that constant reminder of the obligations and responsibilities we hold as engineering graduates. I'm also excited about the fact that it marks the transition point between being an undergraduate student and proceeding towards licensure.”
Engineering students Carson Bay and Duke Gand will graduate from the University of Waterloo this semester and recently attended their Obligation Ceremony. Bay says the iron ring serves as “an awesome reminder of the weight of the decisions that I will have to make.”
“It shows that you can triumph over anything as long as you set your mind to it, put your heart in the right place, and then work hard consistently,” adds Gand. “And it symbolizes that there is no beginning and no end to what you can achieve and learn, and you can take that with you.”
“It feels like I'm joining a community within Canada that I'm quite honored to join,” says Bay. “Many times in non-engineering spaces I've seen rings on others and have been able to make connections with people.”
Indeed, Shara says the iron ring has helped to build a strong Canadian engineering community.
“When I see a ring worn by anybody, whether it's at a corner restaurant, in an airport halfway around the world, or on vacation somewhere, I walk up to that person, introduce myself, and inevitably it leads to a really wonderful conversation. That ring acts as almost like a calling card between us,” Shara says.
The Calling of an Engineer turns 100
Several years ago, members of the engineering community called for changes to the Obligation Ceremony so it would better reflect both the modern world in which engineering operates and the diversity of engineers entering the field. The Corporation of the Seven Wardens struck a review committee, which engaged representatives of the Kahnawake Mohawk community and engineers from diverse backgrounds. They received input from all 28 camps and other interest holders, including engineering students, obligated engineers, licensing organizations, and deans from engineering faculties.
The modernized ceremony will be formally launched in Montreal on April 25, 2025, exactly 100 years after the first one. The committee held a cross-Canada competition to create two new poems—one in English, one in French—that will become part of the new ceremony, and both will be read aloud by their authors at the April 25 event.
The committee chose to maintain the historical elements of the ceremony they believe still have meaning, including the obligation and the iron ring, while updating or adding other elements.
“Some of the more archaic or difficult to understand language has been replaced, so a young person taking that obligation today will understand every single word,” Shara says. Religious imagery and references to gender have also been removed to make the ceremony inclusive.
“It reflects a necessary evolution, one that acknowledges the breadth of those who currently study engineering. One hundred years ago, it was mainly white men. Today, when I look around the classrooms, we have so much diversity in terms of gender, in terms of ethnicity, in terms of backgrounds of the students,” says Wells.