Building a meaningful career means accepting and overcoming challenges to create new opportunities. CP employees connecting North America through the railway will tell you they agree. With CP, every day is a new opportunity to challenge yourself and grow. 

"I'm a driven person, and I love a challenge," says Lisa Bryson, an assistant superintendent for CP, based in Manitoba. She manages two terminals: one in Brandon, the other in Minnedosa.

Bryson has worked with CP for just over 10 years. She started as a conductor. From there, she became a locomotive engineer responsible for driving trains, a job she defines as a milestone.

“One of my proudest moments is becoming a locomotive engineer,” says Bryson. “That was a day I'll never forget. Being at the helm of an eighteen-thousand-tonne train—there's nothing like it.”

Climbing the ladder

Her career changed again in 2013 when she transitioned to management from locomotive engineer. Running and driving trains was one thing, but Bryson felt compelled to learn more about the railway, to climb the ladder. Determined, she became a trainmaster, a key decision maker responsible for train network operations.

“Taking the trainmaster position when it was offered to me was probably one of the most life-changing opportunities I’ve had throughout my career. It is unbelievable the number of doors that opened,” she says.

She felt her career was flourishing at that point. But stepping through the threshold to management was a challenge; one that required learning, patience, and perseverance.

“The environment is ever-changing. There’s always a new urgency. But what makes leaders at CP so great is the fact we’re able to maintain our core objectives: run the plan and manage your employees,” says Bryson.

Now an assistant superintendent, Bryson says she tackles a new problem every day.

Passing the baton

Opportunity comes fast for some. A tenderfoot to the CP team and recent Concordia University, Engineering grad, Solange de Blois has only been with the company for three months, working as a reliability specialist. She’s already been chosen to take part in a project that she calls an industry first.

“It's exciting and a little nerve-wracking because you want to do well. It's an excellent opportunity, and it's changing so much about the industry,” de Blois says.

Although she couldn’t go into detail, de Blois noted that this new project will make the company’s operations more efficient in the future by automating processes that will detect failures along railways and on trains before they happen.

According to de Blois, there’s no better place to grow than with CP: “From the scope of the things I do to the facilities, ability to learn and opportunities—there’s no comparison to what I’ve done before.”

Based in Calgary, Alberta, CP is a Class 1 North American railway providing freight transportation services over a 12,500-mile network in Canada and the U.S. Its high-density network serves virtually every major sector and ships commodities like grain, energy, coal, lumber and potash as well as cars, agricultural equipment, home electronics, food and furniture. Learn more at cpr.ca

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