CPCS named a top employer in Canada’s capital region for 2026
For the fourth consecutive year, CPCS has been recognized by the reputable Canada’s Top 100 Employers competition for its commitment to impactful infrastructure advisory, employee ownership, and fun.
- Employee-owned since 1996: CPCS is a global management consulting firm specializing in transportation, energy, infrastructure, and major projects.
- Values: We prioritize Fun and Impact, two of our core beliefs we call DEEPER IF.
- Join our team: Discover what it’s like to work for a high-impact employer: https://cpcs.ca/careers/
Why CPCS is a top employer in Ottawa-Gatineau
The editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers have selected CPCS based on our industry-leading workplace initiatives. Key reasons for our 2026 selection include:
- Employee ownership: CPCS encourages employees to adopt an ownership mentality through a share purchase plan, available to all employees, and lets everyone share in the company’s success with a formal profit-sharing plan. CPCS also provides year-end bonuses and referral bonuses of up to $5,000.
- Learning and development: CPCS cultivates a learning culture with tuition and professional association subsidies and custom training taught by colleagues through the in-house Depth University. Employees are also eligible for up to four days per year for short-term training on company time, as well as a paper and presentation bonus of up to $2,000.
- Fun: CPCS established a social committee for each office location, including one for remote employees, including a weekly in-office lunch and an annual volunteer activity. Past activities included a potluck, comedy night, curling, axe throwing, and more.
- Discover the full list of reasons for selection.
Impactful careers in management consulting
Our mission is to find the better solution to any given transportation, energy, and infrastructure challenge or opportunity that ultimately affects peoples’ day-to-day lives. Our purpose is clear: Better infrastructure solutions = Better lives.
CPCS advises governments, industry, investors, and development institutions on planning, structuring and realizing the value of infrastructure development priorities and investments.
More than 50% of our workforce holds shares in the company. This ownership culture allows us to chart our path, align our business goals with our values, and make CPCS a company we enjoy belonging to. Explore our work.
About CPCS
Why does CPCS consistently rank among the top employers?
This employer recognition reflects a combination of purpose‑driven work, real opportunities for professional growth, and an intentionally designed employee experience. Rather than relying on surface‑level perks, we invest in our values, trust in people, and an organizational structure that supports both individual success and collective impact. For many of us, that alignment is what makes CPCS a place where people choose to stay and grow.
What sets CPCS apart from other management consulting firms?
Compared to both large and small consulting firms, CPCS occupies a unique space: big enough to make a real impact, yet small enough to remain human.
CPCS works on complex, high‑impact infrastructure challenges around the world. We have deliberately avoided becoming an organization where people get lost in layers of hierarchy. Teams are nimble, decisions are made close to the work, and individuals are recognized for their judgment, not just their title. This balance allows our people to contribute to meaningful projects without the anonymity or administrative burden that often comes with very large organizations.
What does “impactful work” look like at CPCS?
It means contributing to nation‑building and system‑shaping infrastructure decisions where the stakes are high and the outcomes are long‑lasting. Our teams advise governments, industry, public agencies, and development partners on complex transport, energy, and infrastructure challenges—often where markets are evolving and public value matters most. The work we do can include structuring public-private partnerships (P3s), advancing mass transit like high-speed rail projects, advising on port and logistics initiatives, and developing policy that facilitates the energy transition.
How does the employee-ownership model work for new hires?
Ownership at CPCS is open to all and the opportunity must be earned. People who after a certain period consistently demonstrate strong performance, commitment, and an employee‑owner mindset typically get invited to become shareholders. To support transparency and financial literacy, CPCS runs a program akin to an Investors Relations Program but for its employee that explains what ownership means in practice and the path to it.
What is “DEEPER IF”?
Our strategy is about depth of expertise, depth in our industry, in our networks, etc. It’s why our mascot is a deep‑sea diver to illustrate that we go further and see what others can’t. That conviction led us to codify our core values in a deliberately quirky expression: DEEPER IF which stands for Depth, Evidence‑based thinking, Excellence, Pragmatism, Entrepreneurship, Respect, Impact, and Fun.
Is the Ottawa office CPCS’s global headquarters?
Yes. While CPCS has been recognized as a Top Employer in Canada’s National Capital Region, we’re a global organization with offices across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Africa, and Asia, enabling career mobility, but also collaborating across regions and contributing to international projects.
About the National Capital Region’s Top Employers 2026
The National Capital Region’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by National Capital Region’s Top Employers the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This designation recognizes the employers in the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area that lead their industries in providing exceptional places to work.
The full list of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers (2026) was announced in a special magazine co-published with the Ottawa Citizen. Detailed reasons for selection for each of this year’s winners, as well as additional stories and photos are accessible via the competition homepage.
Further reading on life at CPCS:
- Explore high-impact careers at CPCS
- CPCS and its attractive total compensation package
- CPCS, an employee-owned company with global reach
- CPCS named a top employer in Canada’s Capital for third time
