As we celebrate National Engineering Month 2025, we also mark a milestone year for the engineering profession: the 100th anniversary of the Calling of an Engineer. In this important ceremony, engineering students receive their Iron Rings. A valued symbol for many engineering graduates, the iron ring is an ever-present reminder of the commitment engineers make to serving the public with integrity and ethics.
A newly modernized ceremony launches during the centennial
The Calling of an Engineers was established in 1925 when 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 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 originally committee that formed in 1925, and today, 28 camps across Canada hold ceremonies for graduating engineering students.
Nearly a century after that first ceremony in 1925, members of the engineering community called for changes to the Calling of an Engineer to make the ceremony more inclusive, and a better reflection of the modern world in which engineering operates. The Corporation of the Seven Wardens struck a review committee and received input from all 28 camps, engineering students, obligated engineers, licensing organizations, and deans from the engineering faculties.
The newly modernized ceremony will be formally launched in Montreal on April 25, 2025, exactly 100 years after the first one.
Learn more about the history of the iron ring and the Calling of an Engineer on the Corporation of the Seven Wardens website.
100 years of the iron ring: A symbol of an engineer’s commitment
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.
Webinar: A New Era for the Calling of an Engineer
Engineers Canada kicked-off National Engineering Month on March 3, 2025, with a celebration of the centennial of the Iron Ring and the unveiling of the newly modernized Calling of an Engineer. This 90-minute virtual event honoured the legacy of this cherished tradition while exploring how recent updates to the Obligation Ceremony reflect a more inclusive and forward-thinking engineering profession.
The event was moderated by Adrian Harewood, Associate Professor of Journalism and Communications at Carleton University, and featured panellists:
- Dharminderpal (Pal) Mann, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar at Engineers Nova Scotia
- Leonard Shara, Chief Warden of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens
- Mary Wells, Chair of Engineering Deans Canada and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo