The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (CCEP) is organized around 4 ethical principles ranked in descending order of importance: I Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples; II Responsible Caring; III Integrity in Relationships; and IV Responsibility to Society. In situations where 2 or more principles are in conflict, psychologists are instructed to give more weight to the higher-ranked principle when deciding how to act. The current study examines how the public ranks the CCEP's ethical principles. If Canadians endorse the CCEP's ranking of principles, this would provide additional support for the validity of assigning them relative importance. If not, this could have implications for how psychologists are expected to use the Code. Twelve vignettes (in French and English) describing an ethical dilemma in which 2 of the 4 Principles of the CCEP were in conflict with each other were mailed to a representative sample of 322 Canadian adults, with 157 responding. Participants were asked what action they felt the psychologist ought to take in each vignette. Participants clearly favoured Principle III Integrity in Relationships above the other 3 principles. Implications and suggestions for future revisions of the CCEP are discussed.

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