Canadian Association of Physicists


Canadian Association of Physicists, or in French Association canadienne des physiciens et physiciennes is a Canadian professional society that focuses on creating awareness among Canadians and Canadian legislators of physics issues, sponsoring physics related events, physics outreach, and publishes Physics in Canada. It was founded in July 1945. The organization has over 1,600 members and is bilingual, functioning in English and French.

P. Phys. professional certification

The CAP can appoint an official designation called the P. Phys. which stands for Professional Physicist, similar to the designation of P. Eng. which stands for Professional Engineer. This designation was unveiled at the CAP congress in 1999 and more than 200 people carry this distinction.

Physics contests

The Canadian Association of Physics hosts several CAP physics contests across Canada each year, aimed at different levels of physics students. The CAP High School Prize exam is offered across Canada once a year, usually in early April, and aims to challenge physics students on their physics knowledge. It is a national exam and the top participants are invited to try out for the Canadian Physics Olympiad international team trained by volunteers from the University of British Columbia.
The CAP Lloyd G. Elliott Prize exam, also known as the "University Prize Exam", is offered once a year, usually early February, to Canadian university undergraduate physics students. The CAP Best Student Presentation competition is held during the CAP's annual congress. The CAP awards prizes to the physics students, normally at the graduate level, who make the three best oral presentations and the three physics students who make the three best poster presentations.

CAP Congress

The CAP holds an annual congress each year to discuss internal matters, hold elections, hold oral and poster sessions, give formation workshops to high school physics teachers, and hold the Herzberg Public Memorial lecture. The 2020 Congress will be held at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from June 8–12.

CAP Foundation activities