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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Calling of an Engineer, the ceremony at which engineering students receive their iron rings. A valued symbol for many engineering graduates, the iron ring is an ever-present reminder of the obligation engineers take to serving the public with integrity and ethics.
The Calling of an Engineer 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 unique to Canada.
The ceremony is overseen by the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, successors to the original committee that formed in 1925, and today, 28 camps across Canada hold ceremonies for graduating engineering students.
As the Calling of an Engineer and the iron ring celebrate 100 years, the Corporation is launching a newly modernized ceremony, and the Royal Canadian Mint has joined the celebrations with a new fine silver coin that pays homage to the contributions of Canada’s engineers over the past century.
Newly modernized ceremony launches April 25 in Montreal
In 2022, the Corporation of the Seven Wardens struck a committee to review the ceremony after members of the engineering community called for changes to the Calling of an Engineer—or the Obligation Ceremony—so it would better reflect the modern world in which engineering operates and the diversity of engineers entering the field. The committee 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, engineering regulators, and deans from engineering faculties. In late 2024, the Corporation of the Seven Wardens approved a newly modernized Calling of an Engineer.
One hundred years to the day after the first Calling of an Engineer was held in Montreal, the modernized ceremony will launch during a special 100th anniversary event on April 25, 2025, at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. More than 300 engineering graduates will take the Obligation during that ceremony.
This new ceremony maintains the historical elements of the ceremony the review committee believed still have meaning, including the obligation and the iron ring, while updating or adding other elements. For example, the revised ceremony features a newly written history of the iron ring, alongside retired astronaut Chris Hadfield’s inspiring interpretation of the Obligation within a modern engineering context. The ceremony now also includes contributions from Tom Deer and Joe Deom of the Kahnawake Mohawk community. Two new poems have been added after they were selected through a competition run by the Corporation of the Seven Wardens; one in English by Gisela Hippolt-Squair of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, and one in French by Réjean Plamondon, engineering professor at Polytechnique Montréal. The ceremony also features contributions from Marie-Célie Agnant, author and poet, as well as Titilope Sonuga, Poet Laureate of Edmonton.
Camps undertake new initiatives
Camps have undertaken new initiatives this year as well to commemorate the history of the engineering community in Canada. For example, Camp 5 in Vancouver has endeavoured to honour the 14 women killed in the École Polytechnique. During the Calling of an Engineer, Camp 5 takes a 4” steel ring and places 14 smaller iron rings on it, representing the 14 women killed on December 6, 1989. The larger ring with the 14 finger rings is placed on the (well-worn) anvil on stage representing cold iron.
Camp 18 in Calgary is holding a renewal ceremony later this year. Engineers that have an iron ring can renew their Obligation by participating in the newly modernized ceremony. Camp 18’s renewal ceremony takes place on November 15, 2025, and is open to any engineer from any camp.
Royal Canadian Mint honours engineers with their own feat of engineering
In celebration of the iron ring centennial, the Royal Canadian Mint has launched a fine silver coin as an homage to Canada’s engineers. A Mint first, the coin has a uniquely faceted edge and rim shaped like the iron ring. On the coin’s reverse, the ring-like rim rises up to encircle the Mint’s ode to engineers and their many varied achievements over the past 100 years.
“I myself received an Iron Ring in a ceremony held in Montreal, where the first ceremony took place 100 years ago, so I was excited to work on this project from the beginning,” said Christian Brochu, Research and Development Engineer at the Mint. “For the rim, the idea of having the ring’s facets replace the usual serrations came from our Research and Development team, and we set out to replicate the angles and quantity as best as we could. We pushed the boundaries of the striking process by tripling up the rim height, from 0.18 mm to 0.6 mm, and it is this fabulous high rim that allows the ring facets to stand out and add distinction to this special coin.”
Designed by artist Pandora Young, the coin is a representation of a century of engineering innovation and achievements. The design alludes to the diversity of engineering disciplines, and features “CANADA” in blueprint lettering in the centre, along with the dates “1925-2025” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Calling of an Engineer.
“The challenge of this coin was to represent a field as diverse and fascinating as engineering on a canvas small enough to lose between couch cushions!” recalled Young. “The Calling of an Engineer embodies a noble oath—to protect the safety of fellow Canadians through scrupulous work—and the achievements of Canadian engineers are so impressive and important that I felt driven to include as many disciplines as possible in our celebration of their labours. From the cast-iron gears of the steam age to the precision instruments of modern biomedical, aerospace, computers, nuclear, and environmental engineering (to name just a few), I tried to raise a toast to everyone.”
The coin is available for sale on the Royal Canadian Mint website.
Learn more about the history of the iron ring and the centennial celebrations here.
