July 2007

Engineers Canada Established as CCPE's Business Name

by Marie Lemay, P. Eng.
CEO, Engineers Canada 

Marie Lemay, P. Eng.

On May 24, 2007, we seized the opportunity to give a renewed, younger, and more relevant look and name to the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE) by officially launching its new business name Engineers Canada (Ingénieurs Canada in French) at our annual general meeting in Winnipeg. 

While our organization has a 70-year history with its 12 constituent members as CCPE, and is well known within the engineering profession, it became apparent in developing our activities and in reaching out to external stakeholders that we were not achieving enough brand recognition from the outside community. 

With our constituent members we have been focusing on the relevance of the profession, on the importance of students and others understanding the profession's role within society, and on enhancing the profession's image and profile. This, along with the brand recognition issue, led us to change the organization's business name and logo to one that would clearly reflect the fact that we work for the national engineering profession-a profession that greatly contributes to society. 

The new business name and logo reflect today's vibrant, revitalized and dynamic engineering profession. They embody the image that we want for the national organization that represents the provincial and territorial associations and ordre that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada. They also have an inclusive feel, keeping in mind that the organization is not a regulator, and that a significant portion of its activities are about promoting the profession, before, during and after licensing. 

Focusing on the new logo, it represents the growth and momentum that the organization has been experiencing over the past few years. It is a symbol of partnership as Engineers Canada, in collaboration with its constituent members, moves forward to continue enhancing the lives of all Canadians. The image encompasses two parts coming together to form one entity. The colours reflect an organization that works in harmony with nature. The image's movement symbolizes how we are building an even brighter future for Canada's engineering profession. 

A lot of thought went into the transitional process from CCPE to Engineers Canada. We took many items into consideration in determining the business name and in developing a new logo. The name needed to clearly and rapidly identify the organization, concisely reflecting CCPE's role and mandate. As we respect the history of our previous name and wanted to be sure that we understood our members' perspectives on changing it, member and stakeholder surveys were also issued. 

In addition, focus groups were conducted. I had the opportunity to gauge students' reactions to the new name, having tested the idea with the executive of the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES). I am pleased to say that their feedback was immediate and very positive. They expressed how they could better relate to Engineers Canada, which fulfills one goal associated with the re-branding: appealing to students to help shape the profession. 

Moving forward as Engineers Canada, we will work to better represent engineering and to achieve greater recognition. This will, in turn, allow us to better serve our constituent members in national and international affairs, and to better develop and implement long-term initiatives that both advance Canada's engineering profession and improve Canadians' quality of life, health and economic prosperity. 

Canadian Council of Professional Engineers will remain as the organization's incorporated name, while Engineers Canada is now our public face as we carry out our activities and initiatives. We will continue to work in the same areas as CCPE has in the past: promoting Canada's engineering profession; setting and assessing engineering education standards; facilitating the mobility of engineers within Canada and negotiating international agreements; as well as coordinating the development of practice standards in Canada. The new business name, however, captures that energy of today's engineer and better reflects the profession's dynamic nature. 

I was delighted to find support from Engineers Canada staff, our constituent members and external stakeholders for creating a new, memorable name that we know will help us promote engineering. I strongly believe that we will look back on this as a milestone for the engineering profession in Canada.

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador