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While they may both be nurses RNs and LPNs are vastly different:

Registered nursing licensure requires considerably more education, which leads to a broader scope of practice for RNs. This licensure also means RNs can work independently in most areas, while LPNs must work under a physician or RN.

LPN Job Duties
LPNs can perform various duties, which include the following:
Collecting and charting vital signs
Distributing oral medications
Checking blood sugar levels
Ambulating, assistance with activities of daily living (such as getting dressed or eating/drinking)
Assisting with bathing and toileting
Other patient care/comfort tasks

RN Job Duties
RNs also perform many of the same duties as LPNs. However, an RN's scope of practice is broader and includes other responsibilities, such as:
Assessing patients
Starting IVs
Distributing oral and IV medications
Collecting blood samples
Performing physical exams
Conducting various diagnostics tests
Educating patients and families
Working with physicians to determine patient treatment plans
Counseling patients
Coordinating treatments with ancillary healthcare professionals (such as physical therapy, nutrition consults, wound care consults, or diabetes specialist consults, to name a few).

What LPNs can do slightly varies from province to province but in B.C. an LPN can't be in an operating room without at least one RN and they can only do certain jobs, among other things.