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Message from the President

Craig Lake, President of the Canadian Geotechnical Society

As winter approaches, it is nice to be able to reflect about the past year and the many happenings with our society. Manitoba was the place to be in September for CGS activities. The Manitoba section hosted a hugely successful 78th annual Canadian Geotechnical Conference in Winnipeg, which was attended by over 700 delegates. The conference was a collaboration between the CGS and the Canadian Permafrost Association (CPA). Our many thanks to the Local Organizing Committee of GeoManitoba 2025, chaired by Kent Bannister. Thanks to Lisa Reny, Bill Reny, Emily Fournier, Lesia Beznaczuk, and Bree Sharp of Karma Link Management Services for conference management. As always, the conference was a great chance to see old friends and meet new ones. The weather was warm but the hospitality of the local community of Manitoba was even warmer! Details of the conference program can still be found on the conference website: https://www.geomanitoba2025.ca/.

The technical portion of the conference kicked off with the RM Hardy Keynote Address given by Ken Skaftfeld entitled “Lessons learned as a guide to geotechnical practice”. Ken’s storytelling abilities shone in this very interesting talk about many of the geotechnical challenges he has been involved with, not only in Winnipeg, but also in Canada’s north. Suzanne Lacasse gave a keynote following the Hardy entitled “Risk-informed decision-making provides necessary insight to help reduce risk”.  Other CGS keynote and plenary presentations included Jennifer Day giving the CGS Colloquium, “The devil’s in the details: Impacts of geological complexities in rock engineering” and Duane Froese delivering the CPA MacKay Lecture. This year’s RF Legget Medal Award winner is Derek Martin. Derek recounted his long and winding career that took him from his home province of “The Rock” to his current home in Alberta. A CGS Honorary Life Member Award was presented to Dennis Becker for his lifetime of engineering achievements serving Canada and the Canadian Geotechnical Society. Details of all award winners are summarized in the special section on GeoManitoba2025 in this edition of Canadian Geotechnique, and posted on the CGS website (cgs.ca).

Another special highlight in September was the CGS Young Professional Conference, held in Wasagaming, Manitoba, immediately before the CGS Annual Conference. The event, co-chaired by Jack Park and Joanna Roadley provided an excellent introduction to the CGS community for emerging geoprofessionals. Over 50 delegates attended, with a program featuring a technical tour of the Human Rights Museum, floodway control structures in Winnipeg and infrastructure renewal within the National Park at Wasagaming. Participants listened to keynotes from Ken Skaftfeld, Jasyn Henry, Kathryn Dompierre, Jean Hutchinson, and myself. The YPs had the opportunity to present a technical topic in PechaKucha format (look it up if you are unfamiliar). The entire conference was a lot of fun for me and I know it was a lot of fun for the attendees. I am more confident than ever that our society is in great hands for the decades to come. Thank you to the entire organizing team for their efforts.

Looking ahead, our 79th Canadian Geotechnical Conference will be held in Quebec City, chaired by Julie Therrien, from September 12–16, 2026. Also planned for 2026 is GeoHazards, scheduled for June 1st to 3rd in Edmonton (AB) and chaired by Corey Froese and Renato Macciotta. All of these CGS events require an enormous amount of effort, and on behalf of CGS, I extend my thanks to every volunteer who contributes to the excellent technical and social programs, workshops, and short courses. I also thank our corporate sponsors and exhibitors—your support is critical to the success of these events and to CGS activities overall.

The Society continued its long-standing tradition of the Cross Canada Lecture Tour (CCLT). Dr. Paul Dittrich (WSP) is, at the time of writing this article, completing the Fall 2025 Tour, and Prof. Jie Han (University of Kansas) will present in Spring 2026. Many thanks to Lisa Reny and the Karma-Link team for managing logistics and ensuring these tours remain successful, along with the Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique.

At our BOD meeting in Winnipeg, the BOD approved a new Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, chaired by Sumi Suddiqua, which will begin in earnest this coming year. CGS hosted several EDI webinars this year, with more workshops planned. Also at the BOD meeting, we announced plans to launch our new membership management system and website (IMIS) in late 2026, which will provide improved interaction between members and the society. Finally, it was reported at the BOD meeting by our VP Finance, Daniel Bertrand, that the external audit for 2025 has been completed, and CGS remains in good financial health, despite broader economic uncertainties. Daniel presented the audited report and 2026 budget at the annual conference Business Luncheon.

Jean Hutchinson was voted as the President-Elect at the Winnipeg BOD meeting. Having worked closely with Jean, I am very confident that CGS will be in excellent hands moving forward. I encourage you to support her as she continues to make CGS one of the best organizations to volunteer with.

In closing, it is truly an honour to serve as President of this Society and to witness the incredible work of CGS members. Thanks to all of you for your continued support as we march towards 2026.





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