CAA Fall Symposium 2026 Vancouver: Environmental Noise & Building Acoustics

About the symposium

The Canadian Acoustical Association's 2026 Fall Symposium is a two-day working event, run identically in Ontario and Vancouver so you can attend whichever is closer. Day one covers environmental noise, day two covers residential building acoustics. Each day is sold as its own ticket, so you can come for one day or both.

The agendas for each day are displayed at the bottom of this page, scroll down to see what's in store.

This is not a lecture series. Each day builds toward practical CAA guidance: two good practice documents on environmental noise modelling and assessment, and a guidance document on residential building acoustics that will make the case for raising minimum standards in the National Building Code. The morning presents the evidence and the state of practice across Canada and internationally; the afternoon puts it to work in workshops where attendees help shape the documents directly. Working groups carry them forward afterwards, and everyone who takes part is invited to stay involved.

Where national guidance does not yet exist, the CAA intends to build it, and these two days are where that starts.

Day 1: Environmental noise in Canada, towards consistent practice and national guidance

Environmental noise is regulated differently in almost every province, with little shared ground on method or compliance. The day opens with a substantial session on ISO 9613-2 (2024), what changed from the 1996 version, the consequences seen in modelling comparisons, and the amendment now being planned, followed by guided discussion where your experience and data help shape Canada's input. The morning continues with short framings of practice in Ontario, Alberta and BC, Health Canada and Quebec (including the LDBE change), and good practice from the UK and Europe, plus a short update on traffic noise modelling. The afternoon is two workshops working from draft CAA documents: a modelling approach document (reflections, ground factor, methodology and uncertainty) and an assessment approach document (baseline and ambient comparison, magnitude of effect, corrections and the absolute limit question), closing with a plenary on how the documents move forward.

Day 2: Residential building acoustics, raising the bar for the National Building Code

Current code minimums are failing occupants, and Canada lags peer nations. The morning sets out the evidence: the human cost of minimum compliance and the metrics that actually predict occupant satisfaction; what is really being built across Canada, drawn from aggregate consultancy project data; how Canadian requirements compare with ISO 19488 and the European experience; and a panel with an architect, developer and property manager on the business case for building beyond code. After lunch, an NRC technical session covers apparent sound transmission class and impact noise calculation, software tools and facade insulation research. The afternoon roundtables ask each table to agree its top three deficiencies in the current code and top three recommended solutions, feeding directly into a CAA guidance document on residential building acoustics.

Format and what is included

Each day runs 08:00 to 17:00 and includes registration and morning coffee, lunch, morning and afternoon breaks, and a dedicated one-hour exhibitor session in the afternoon. Attendees are assumed to have a working grounding in acoustics. Presenter names will be confirmed closer to the date; the topics and structure above are fixed.

An optional evening social is held on the first night at each location. It is ticketed separately and is not included in a day ticket.

Venue

The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Airport, 3099 Corvette Way, Richmond, BC. A few minutes from YVR with a hotel shuttle, and close to the Canada Line, which makes it straightforward for anyone flying in or coming from downtown. Both days run in the main room with exhibitor tables in the same space. The optional evening social on 5 November is being arranged nearby in conjunction with the CAA Pacific (BC & Yukon) Regional Chapter, more details to come.

Tickets and pricing

Tickets are per day. Choose the day or days you want to attend and the price that applies to you.

CAA member pricing is available to anyone who is a current member of the Canadian Acoustical Association at the time of the event. No promo code is needed: select the member ticket and we will check membership at registration on the day. If you are not a member and would like to be, see the membership note below. Non-member tickets are available to everyone.

Ticket prices are in Canadian dollars.

A note on CAA membership and our website

The CAA is building a new website, launching in the coming weeks. In the meantime our current site is only partly working: you can log in and access your account, but it cannot take payments or send emails. So that nobody is held up, we have added a CAA Membership Fee "Add On" to this event. To join or renew, add it to your order alongside your day ticket, and select the member price for your days. We will then set up your account or mark your existing one as up to date, and be in touch to confirm. Membership is processed by hand at the moment, so please allow a few days; you are not being ignored, and your membership will be honoured at the event. Any questions about your membership status, email CAA2026symposium@caa-aca.ca.

Exhibitors

Exhibitor spaces are available at both locations, with a dedicated exhibition session on each day. If your organization would like to exhibit, email sponsorship@caa-aca.ca.

Questions

Email CAA2026symposium@caa-aca.ca for anything else about the symposium.