ACEC celebrates the best of engineering consulting at national awards gala

Canada’s consulting engineering industry honoured its best and brightest tonight at the inaugural 2025 ACEC National Awards Gala, celebrating community-changing projects that will have a lasting impact.

Recognized as the industry’s top honours, the ACEC National Awards went to 16 projects that showcased why Canada is at the very top of the consulting engineering field. Besides 16 Awards of Excellence, ACEC bestowed six projects with Special Awards for technical innovation, dedication to the environment, Canadian expertise abroad, and improvement of Canadians’ social, economic, or cultural quality of life. Winners were selected by an independent jury of distinguished experts from varied backgrounds.

ACEC Project of the Year went to Limberlost Place, a groundbreaking tall-timber building in Toronto. Fast + Epp earned the top award as well as the Catalyst Award for pushing the boundaries of tall-wood construction and setting a new precedent for sustainable design.

The other Special Award winners were:

• AtkinsRéalis – Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (Outreach Award)
• Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. and Stantec for the BMO Centre Expansion in Calgary (Prosperity Award)
• EXP Services Inc. for the Nignen Women’s Shelter in New Brunswick (Engineering a Better Canada Award), developed through engagement with the Natoaganeg First Nation
• HH Angus and Associates for the INITIATE2 Infectious Disease Treatment Module (Ambassador Award)
• WSP Canada for the PSPC – SPIB, Laboratories Canada – Mississauga Project (Breton Environmental Stewardship Award)

Two of the companies who received ACEC Awards of Excellence this year – CIMA+ and gbi – were also recognized at the FIDIC Global Infrastructure Awards in September.

ACEC also gave out three individual awards: the 2025 Beaubien Award for lifetime achievement was presented to Steve Fleck (retired, formerly of Stantec); the Allen D. Williams Scholarship Award went to Gurleen Gang, an up-and-coming leader at Ecora Engineering in B.C.; and the Chair’s Award was presented to Catherine Karakatsanis of Stantec, who was the first woman to be president of FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.

“The ACEC National Awards celebrate the outstanding work of Canada’s world-leading consulting engineering firms – projects that improve community life, drive economic growth, and shape the future through innovation,” said ACEC President and CEO John Gamble. “ACEC is proud to highlight the excellence that our firms display both here in Canada and around the world, from hurricane recovery projects in Barbuda and river renewal work in the U.S. to carbon removal projects and Indigenous community-building in Canada.”

2025 Beaubien Award

ACEC chair Doug Coles (left) presenting the 2025 Beaubien Award for lifetime achievement to Stantec’s Steve Fleck. (ACEC-Canada)

As an engineer, Steve Fleck’s work has improved the lives of countless people in communities all over the world, overseeing the building of essential infrastructure such as bridges and hospitals. As a mentor, Fleck has helped dozens of up-and-coming professionals thrive in their careers. As a leader, he has made an indelible mark on Canada’s consulting engineering industry, adding his voice and expertise to promoting his industry and to bettering conditions by advocating on issues such as qualifications-based selection and the use of standard contracts.

“The Beaubien Award is a hallmark of excellence in the consulting engineering industry, and Steve Fleck is a worthy candidate,” said Anthony Karakatsanis, BEsc., P.Eng., ICD.D, who served on ACEC-Canada’s Board of Directors with Fleck. “He is an exemplary engineer whose contributions have significantly impacted our profession and the communities we serve.”

Fleck’s inspiring career of more than 40 years spans many countries, including Sweden, Chile, the U.S., the UK, and Canada. The large-scale and complex infrastructure projects he has led on behalf of Stantec and AMEC – valued at more than $5 billion – include the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the Seymour Capilano Filtration Plant in B.C., as well as forest industry process plants, energy facilities, and P3s in healthcare, transportation, transit, wastewater and education throughout the world.

Fleck has also advocated on behalf of his industry through leadership in organizations such as ACEC-Canada and ACEC-BC, for which he served on the Board as Vice-Chair and Chair respectively. His fellow ACEC-BC Board member, Tim Stanley, P.Eng., president of Stratic Consulting, Inc. and a past chair of ACEC-Canada, observed, “Steve has taken every opportunity to advocate for the impact and contributions of Canadian engineers across the world, as he truly believes this is one of the under-reported stories of our country’s success.”

2025 CHAIR’S AWARD

ACEC-Canada past chair Jerome Pelletier (left) presents the 2025 Chair’s Award to Catherine Karakatsanis. (ACEC)

Catherine Karakatsanis, senior vice president at Stantec and immediate past president of FIDIC, was the 2025 recipient of its the Chair’s Award for her exceptional work as an engineer and for her important contributions to the industry as a leader.

Karakatsanis is the first woman to be elected president of the Fédération internationale des ingénieursconseil (FIDIC) in its 110-year history and only the third Canadian to be elected to the role. FIDIC represents more than 1.4 million engineers and 40,000 firms in 100-plus countries, and she took on the presidency for two years (until this fall), overseeing what was perhaps the greatest transformation of the association in its history.

Her career is also global in scope. As a structural engineer, Karakatsanis has worked on high-profile projects across Canada and the U.S. She rose through several technical and project management roles at Morrison Hershfield (now Stantec) to become chief operating pfficer, a role she held for 13 years, overseeing all operations across Canada, the US, and internationally. She was the first woman to be an executive and a board member of the firm. A consummate listener and devoted advocate, she has championed policies that promote diversity in the profession and strives to make the profession even more welcoming to women and young engineers.

Her skilled leadership has extended to many volunteer governance positions. She has served on the boards or foundations of, among others, Engineers Without Borders Canada, the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, the Hellenic Heritage Foundation, and Hydro One Inc. She has also served as president of Engineers Canada, working closely with the provincial regulators to deliver national programs that continue to have a positive impact on the profession and its public profile.

Allen D. Williams Scholarship Award

Gurleen Gang. (ACEC)

The 2026 Allen D. Williams Scholarship Award was presented to Gurleen Gang of Ecora Engineering and Environmental, Ltd.

An exceptional young civil engineer whose ascent to a leadership position at Ecora was swift and stellar, Gurleen has earned an impeccable reputation with clients on multimillion-dollar projects because of his technical abilities, business savvy, and phenomenal people skills. His passion for civil engineering grew out of his childhood experiences in Kenya, where he developed a deep appreciation for infrastructure and its fundamental role in improving quality of life.

Gurleen has years of experience directing and designing complex major projects in capital infrastructure and land development. He has worked on projects such as the Big White reservoir, Kelowna sewer upgrades, and the Scenic Canyon slope stabilization. As project manager for the latter, which faced multiple risks due to challenging terrain and strict environmental constraints, he implemented custom risk management practices that set a benchmark for future work within his firm.

Innovation, collaboration, and communication are three of the keys to Gurleen’s successful track record with his clients. Dylan Wilson, P.Eng., from the City of Kelowna, has the highest praise: “Gurleen’s projects exemplify professionalism and are distinguished by their highquality outcomes, often exceeding our expectations and significantly enhancing community infrastructure.”

Gurleen has a global vision – inspired by his life story – of advancing consulting engineering in Canada and abroad by building impactful infrastructure, driving systemic improvements that help communities, and empowering the next generation of engineers. He came to Canada to study at Okanagan College. After working for the City of Parksville as an engineering technologist, he earned his Bachelor of Applied Science from UBC Okanagan, all the while gaining experience at consulting engineering firms. His rise within Ecora has been remarkable. Since joining the firm in 2021, he has earned his P.Eng. and PMP, adding to his AScT and other designations. Not content to rest, he is now pursuing an MBA.

Featured image: Fast + Epp was presented with the ACEC Project of the Year for Limberlost Place. (ACEC)