Regulated Professions in Canada
List of licensing bodies for regulated professions in Canada
Your international education may not be enough to start practicing in your field here once you immigrate, or in most instances, even before you immigrate. Many professions, from health care to teaching to trades are regulated in Canada, meaning you will need to be certified to practice here. Depending on what your international credentials are, you may have to relicense, which would entail further studies, examinations and/or practicums.
Below is a resource list of the most common licensed professions and their related licensing or regulatory bodies
Generally speaking, licensing bodies usually have an overarching national association, but licensing requirements are mostly provincially based, so you’ll have to relicense with the provincial body, depending on which province or territory of Canada you make your new home, and if you move after immigrating, from province to province.
Note also that the relicensing process isn’t always the same in each province so certification in one province might not be automatically transferable to another, depending on the industry.
There are also a few organizations that offer a foreign credentials assessment service, where you can get more information on how transferable your international credentials are. But if you know your profession is licensed and you know which provincial regulatory body to go to, then going straight to them for more information first is often best.
List of licensing bodies for regulated professions in Canada
Accounting
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The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) or CPA Canada is the national organization established to support a unified Canadian accounting profession, amalgamating Canada’s previous CA, CGA and CMA designations.
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If you’re an internationally trained accountant, you can contact the CPA licensing body in your province to find out how you can become licensed as a CPA in Canada. Note the CPA designation is different from CPA designations in the U.S. and other countries.
Provincial/territorial accounting bodies
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CPA Alberta
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CPA British Columbia
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CPA Manitoba
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CPA Ontario
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CPA New Brunswick
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CPA Nova Scotia
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CPA Quebec
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CPA Saskatchewan
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CPA Yukon
Architecture
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The Canadian Architectural Certification Board is the national certification board of the architecture profession. It offers useful information for internationally trained professionals as part of its Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect Program (BEFA).
Provincial/territorial architectural bodies
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CACB Alberta
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CACB British Columbia
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CACB Manitoba
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CACB New Brunswick
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CACB Nova Scotia
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CACB Ontario
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CACB PEI
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CACB Quebec
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CACB Saskatchewan
Dentistry
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Dental licensure is a provincial responsibility in Canada. Each province/territory has a dental regulatory authority/licensing body that establishes regulations and requirements for the licensure of general practitioners within their jurisdiction. But like other professions, it has overarching national organizations where you can find more information, including Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada and National Dental Examining Board of Canada.
Provincial/territorial dentistry bodies
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