Although public relations industry in Canada remains relatively anxious and insecure in
its status as a profession, significant advances have been made in its development as a profession
during the past 20 years. As a result of these advances in establishing a discernable skillset and
university-level education, public relations is generally recognized as a strategic management
function in most industries and sectors across Canada. However, public relations advances and
attempts to secure its position as a profession are indicative of power model as opposed to the
altruistic functional model of public relations which was promoted by Lasswell in 1928 and the
CPRS in 2008. Although it is more successful in some areas than others, the public relations
industry in Canada has established the general traits of professions including "professional
association, cognitive base, institutionalized training, licensing, work autonomy, colleague
control and code of ethics. With its rising levels of employment,
recognition as a specialized management function, and growth of undergraduate and graduate
level programs, public relations will likely be secure in its status a profession in Canada within
the near future.