On Monday, March 1, 1999 National Engineering Week was launched at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa with the celebration of the five most significant Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century.

The National Engineering Week Executive Committee, with extensive research and inputs from the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada, Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering compiled a shortlist based on engineering achievements that met several key criteria:they must have been conceived, designed and executed with significant input by a Canadian engineer or team of engineers; they must have involved groundbreaking engineering thinking and ingenuity; and they must have demonstrated the scope and diversity of Canada's engineering profession.

In addition, an Angus Reid poll was conducted asking Canadians which of these achievements makes them most proud to be Canadian.