P.Eng Competency Examples: How to Demonstrate Each Category

To earn a P.Eng licence in Canada, you document your work experience against the Engineers Canada competency framework: 34 competencies in 7 categories. Reviewers are not looking for a job description; they are looking for evidence that you personally exercised each competency. The clearest way to provide that evidence is a short Situation-Action-Result (SAR) narrative for each competency, with the emphasis on what you did.

Below is what each of the seven categories is asking for, with the kind of example that demonstrates it well. Use them as a model for mining your own projects, not as text to copy. The strongest narratives are specific: a named project, the standard or method you applied, the decision you made, and the result.

This is applying engineering knowledge to real problems: analysis, design, tools, codes and standards, and risk. A strong example names the specific problem and the judgment you exercised. For instance: sizing a stormwater detention pond to a municipality's post-development peak-flow target, selecting the outlet control structure, and verifying the design against the governing design guidelines. Name the codes, the software, and the decision you made, not just the task.

This covers planning, scheduling, resourcing, documentation, coordination, and supervision. You do not need to have been a project manager. A good example: developing the work breakdown for a design package, estimating the hours, coordinating your civil work with the structural and electrical disciplines, and adjusting the schedule when a site constraint emerged. Show the planning and the trade-offs you managed.

Every project generates communication. Demonstrate written communication (a report, a technical memo, a specification you authored), oral communication (a client presentation or a design review you led), and the ability to adapt your message to a non-technical audience. A good example explains the audience, what you were communicating, and the outcome the communication achieved.

This category is about understanding how engineering work affects the public, communities, and the environment. A strong example describes a project where you considered the social or environmental impact of a decision: prioritizing fish-passage requirements in a watercourse crossing, or accounting for an Indigenous community's interests in a project affecting traditional lands. Show that you weighed the broader context, not just the technical optimum.

This covers working independently and in multidisciplinary teams, plus your own professional development. Demonstrate collaboration, mentoring, or constructive conflict resolution. A good example: leading the technical direction on a project component while coordinating with other disciplines, or mentoring a junior engineer through a design task and reviewing their work.

This is integrity, professional accountability, and equity in practice. A strong example describes a situation where you upheld a professional standard or the public interest: disclosing a conflict of interest, flagging a safety concern, or ensuring an accessible and inclusive design. This category overlaps with the ethics scenarios on the NPPE, so the same principles apply.

This category asks you to show knowledge specific to practising in Canada: the Canadian legal and regulatory framework, Canadian codes and standards, Canadian business practices, and Indigenous relations including the duty to consult. A good example references the specific Canadian regulations, contracts, or standards you applied and how they shaped your work.

For each competency, write 200 to 400 words in SAR form: a brief situation, a detailed account of your personal action (60 to 70 percent of the narrative), and a concrete result. Use the first person, name specifics, and tie each narrative to one or two competencies rather than trying to cover many at once. Browse the individual competency pages below to see exactly what each code is asking for.