Abstract
The registration and licensing of professional engineers, including geological engineers in Canada, is under the jurisdiction of the provincial and territorial governments, through self-regulating professional associations. Each association (Ordre in Quebec) through boards and committees, examines and admits qualified engineers to the association. Membership in an association permits practice of a professional engineer in the given province or territory. An applicant for membership in a professional engineering association/Ordre, is considered academically qualified if the applicant has graduated from an accredited Canadian engineering program. Accreditation of the programs is undertaken on a regular basis by the Canadian Accreditation Board (CAB) of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), a national federation of the 12 provincial and territorial associations. Applicants are also considered to be academically qualified if they are graduates of programs subject to an accreditation process equivalent to that of the CAB, and approved by the CAB. This includes through bilateral agreement, U.S. programs accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). Those applicants who are not graduates of accredited programs, are generally assigned confirmatory or qualifying examinations. The CCPE provides a Uniform Syllabus of Examinations used by all the constitutent associations for these examinations.
Registration requirements also include a specified two year period of North American and/or Canadian experience. Special provisions permit limited practice by non-residents. The accreditation process facilitates the mobility of professional engineers in Canada.
