March is National Engineering Month, an annual occasion recognizing the contributions of engineers to society. A tradition unique to Canada is the Iron Ring Ceremony, in which new graduates of engineering programs take an oath and receive an iron ring to wear as a constant reminder of their commitment to serving the public in their profession. The first iteration of the Iron Ring Ceremony took place in 1925. For its 100th anniversary, PAGSE compiled a list of five noteworthy Canadian engineering achievements across various disciplines within the past century (in no particular order). There are many more – let us know what we missed!
Alouette-I
On September 29, 1962, Canada became the third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to achieve the feat of launching its own artificial satellite into space. Alouette-I was designed to improve shortwave radio transmission over long distances by studying the ionosphere, a region of the upper atmosphere that reflects radio waves back to Earth. Equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation for its time, the proposed spacecraft drew skepticism from NASA for its feasibility. However, it was launched successfully after just three and half years of design and construction. It remained operational for ten years, collecting over a million ionospheric images and way exceeding its anticipated one-year lifespan. Alouette’s longevity, reliability, and novelty established Canada’s reputation as a leader in space engineering and helped Canadian companies win bids for subsequent ambitious projects, such as Canadarm.
Alouette-I. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Alkaline battery
Yes, a Canadian engineer invented the device that powered (pun unintended) the rise of consumer electronics. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a chemical engineering degree in 1949, Lewis Urry began working for Eveready (now Energizer). At the time, the company was making stable but low energy density carbon-zinc batteries, which limited its lifespan. Recognizing its drawbacks, Urry developed an alternative battery with an alkaline electrolyte (the substance that permits the flow of charged particles between the electrodes). He first identified that manganese dioxide and solid zinc were compatible with alkaline, and later found that powdered zinc significantly improved battery performance. In 1957, he demonstrated his new battery by placing one in a toy car and a carbon-zinc battery in another and pitting the cars in a race around the cafeteria, which the alkaline battery-powered car won decisively. The alkaline battery entered production two years later and has since undergone significant changes, resulting in a 40-fold longer battery life today.
Urry’s original alkaline battery prototype. (Smithsonian Institution, photo by Michelle Z. Donahue)
External artificial pacemaker
The invention of the external artificial pacemaker in 1951 by John Hopps, a Canadian electrical engineer at the National Research Council, revolutionized the adoption of electronic devices in medicine and enabled the invention of the implantable pacemaker later that decade. As cardiac surgeons at the Banting Institute in Toronto were studying how hypothermia could slow down heartbeat before surgery, they also sought a means of restoring normal heartbeat in low temperatures. Hopps was recruited for the task, and he created a portable device that sends electrical pulses to the heart, causing it to contract and pump blood. In 1950, it was tested on a dog and successfully regulated its heart function at -20 degrees Celsius. As the first device that could continuously stimulate the heart in a controlled manner, the pacemaker went on to save lives across the world. For his efforts to combine engineering and medicine, he is recognized as the “Father of Biomedical Engineering” in Canada.
Hopp’s prototype of the external cardiac pacemaker. (Ingenium, Tom Affoldi; 1985.0610)
Trans-Canada Highway
The 7281 km-long highway connecting Canada from east to west was an ambitious project undertaken between 1949 to 1970, as automobiles became widespread. Not only was it difficult to design and build a continuous structure compatible with the varying geography across Canada’s expanse, the Trans-Canada Highway also faced many project management and logistical challenges during its construction, including different standards across different provinces and disputes in funding between the provincial and federal governments. Establishing consistent standards and safety measures, all parties worked together to bring the project to fruition. Since its inception, the Trans-Canada Highway has brought far-reaching benefits, including the strengthening of the metal, concrete, and construction materials industries and increased interprovincial trade and road travel. Beyond the economic benefits, it has also fostered a sense of national unity and pride, serving as a constant reminder of all this country has to offer.
A map showing the Trans-Canada Highway. (Transport Canada)
CANDU reactor
Since the latter half of the 20th century, Canada has been a leader in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which supports the decarbonization effort. Its key contribution is the development of the Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) reactor, which uses heavy water (water in which the hydrogen atoms are replaced by deuterium atoms) instead of as the moderator and coolant and natural instead of enriched uranium as the fuel. This process makes CANDU reactors 15% more fuel-efficient than pressurized water reactors, and from an operational standpoint, the use of natural uranium reduces cost and heavy water is easy to produce. As well, the design of the reactor itself allows refuelling at full capacity, avoiding the downtime required to refuel conventional reactors. Today, there are 19 CANDU reactors in operation in Canada, supplying 15% of the country’s energy, and 30 abroad.
A schematic of the CANDU reactor. (Canadian Nuclear Association)
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Sources:
Bilbao, M. (2021, September 17). Cardiac pacemaker. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cardiac-pacemaker
Canadian Nuclear Association . (2021, May 26). How a nuclear reactor works. Canadian Nuclear Association. https://cna.ca/reactors-and-smrs/how-a-nuclear-reactorworks/
Dingman, S. (2017, January 2). How a Canadian engineer fuelled the battery industry. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-150/how-a-canadian-engineer-revolutionized-the-battery-industry/article33465448/
Gilmar, P. J. (2023, September 27). Alouette I: A beacon of peace in space. Legion Magazine. https://legionmagazine.com/alouette-i-a-beacon-of-peace-in-space/
Government of Canada. (2016, February 15). The Construction of the Trans-Canada Highway. Parks Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2016/02/the-construction-of-the-trans-canada-highway.html
Government of Canada. (2018, September 28). Alouette I and II. Canadian Space Agency. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/alouette.asp
Government of Canada. (2025, January 8). The Canadian Nuclear Energy Technology. Natural Resources Canada. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sources/nuclear-energy-uranium/canadian-nuclear-energy-technology
Rosano, M. (2014, June 1). CANDU: A Canadian success story. Canadian Geographic. https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/candu-a-canadian-success-story/
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