Reform tracker · Canada · Ontario
Ontario "As of Right": psychologists from other provinces can practise immediately
Since January 2026, psychologists fully registered elsewhere in Canada can practise in Ontario for up to six months while they complete local registration.
The stated rationale
Labour mobility: making it easier for health professionals registered elsewhere in Canada to work in Ontario.
What changed
Psychologists and psychological associates fully registered in another Canadian province can practise in Ontario for up to six months while finishing CPBAO registration. This came from Bill 56, which received Royal Assent on 3 November 2025 and extended “As of Right” to 16 more health professions, including psychology, from 1 January 2026. A separate law passed in June 2025 (Bill 2) created a similar route for non-health occupations.
The title-upgrade concern
The Psychological Association of Manitoba (Manitoba’s regulator) raised concerns in 2023 that mobility rules could let master’s-level providers gain the psychologist title by registering in another province. The Ontario regulator cites this same route as one reason for its title change.
Who supports it
- Ontario Government
Who has raised concerns
Not yet documented.
Sources
- CPBAO: As of Right legislation for psychologists and psychological associates
- CPBAO: Autonomous practice and Canadian labour mobility
- WeirFoulds: Changes coming into effect January 1, 2026
- Manitoba Fair Registration Practices Office: 2023 registration review of the Psychological Association of Manitoba