Canadian Acoustical Association / Association Canadienne d'Acoustique
Advancing Acoustics Through Knowledge and Collaboration.
The Canadian Acoustical Association is the national professional body for acoustics, noise, vibration, hearing protection, audio and musical acoustics in Canada. We bring together consultants, engineers, researchers, students, educators and audio professionals from every province and territory, publish the journal Canadian Acoustics, run the annual Acoustics Week in Canada conference and a growing program of regional and specialist events, and speak for the profession to government, industry and the public.
The Association is organized around five regional chapters and seven Special Interest Groups, develops Canadian best practice guidance as a core activity, runs a national awards program, and works in partnership with international bodies including the UK Institute of Acoustics. All of this is overseen by a volunteer board elected by the membership.
Discover the history of the CAA and how our association has evolved over the years.
We work to advance acoustics in Canada.
The CAA develops guidance, best practices, and training that raises the standard of practice across the country. The CAA builds careers by attracting the next generation to the fields, supporting students and early-career professionals, and championing diversity throughout the industry. We actively encourage underrepresented groups to see acoustics as a place to thrive, and inspire those considering the profession through the stories of people building meaningful careers here. The CAA invests in ongoing development at every stage, including the entrepreneurial and business skills practitioners need to lead and build new ventures. We carry the depth of Canadian acoustics expertise onto the international stage.
he CAA is an advocate for better acoustics in society. The CAA educates the public on the benefits of thoughtful acoustic design and the real costs of unmanaged noise: to human health, hearing, productivity, mental wellbeing, and quality of life. The CAA engages with government and industry as a credible, independent source of knowledge on science and practice.
Environment and ecological health. The CAA recognizes acoustics as an environmental issue. From urban noise to underwater sound, the CAA contributes knowledge and expertise to the protection of human and ecological health, with a role as a trusted voice wherever the acoustic environment affects living systems.
The CAA is the collaborative home for practitioners, researchers, students, educators, and audio professionals in acoustics and related areas of interest. The CAA creates the connections: between members across disciplines and regions, between the profession and partner and sponsoring organizations, and between Canadian acoustics and the broader international community.
Five chapters across Canada bringing members together locally with evening technical talks, socials and site visits, hybrid wherever possible.
Seven groups driving conference and symposium content, guideline development and community in each area of the field.
Best practice guidance is a core CAA activity.
Working groups under the Special Interest Groups develop guidance with broad industry input, shaped through our symposiums, workshops and conferences, in areas including residential building acoustics, environmental baseline assessment and prediction, low frequency noise assessment, and underwater acoustics.
A group for students and those in their first five years in industry: networking, mentorship and a real voice in the Association.
The CAA is a federally incorporated not-for-profit governed by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by members at the Annual General Meeting.
The CAA is a federally incorporated not-for-profit governed by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by members at the Annual General Meeting.
The following roles are currently vacant. If you’d like to contribute to the acoustics community in Canada, email volunteer@caa-aca.ca.
The CAA works alongside organizations whose work complements our own.
Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA (INCE-USA): co-host of InterNoise 2028 in Vancouver.
International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE): the CAA is a member society; InterNoise 2028 is an I-INCE congress.
Institute of Acoustics (IOA), UK: partnership covering shared webinars, early careers, member benefits and the diploma program.
The CAA traces back to March 1962, when eighteen people interested in acoustics met at the National Research Council in Ottawa and agreed Canada’s acoustics activity should be coordinated. The group became the Canadian Committee on Acoustics in 1963, took its current name in 1974, and incorporated in 1977.
Along the way it joined International INCE, hosted the International Congress on Acoustics in Toronto in 1986, and turned its newsletter into Canadian Acoustics, the peer-reviewed journal we still publish today. The Association is now in its next chapter: regional chapters and Special Interest Groups across the country, national guidance in development, and a growing community across every field of acoustics.
Become a member. Join the national home for acoustics in Canada.
The Canadian Acoustical Association gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of our sponsors.
