Licensing of Engineers and Provincial Associations
In Canada, only a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) is licensed to practice engineering. Professional Engineers are accountable to their provincial or territorial licensing body for the work they do. When you hold a P.Eng., you are licensed to practice engineering in the province or territory where it was granted. The license also gives you the right to use the letters P.Eng. after your name.
The P.Eng. is a professional license. To obtain a P.Eng., you must meet the educational qualifications. That generally means graduating from an accredited engineering program (see Accreditation of Engineering Programs in Canada), or a program offered outside Canada recognized through an international agreement, or graduating from an engineering program that is not recognized and then completing technical examinations to demonstrate that you meet the qualifications. You also need the right experience—three to four years of on-the-job internship completed under the supervision of a P.Eng. Finally, you must be able to function in the language of the jurisdiction (French in Québec, English or French in New Brunswick and English in all other provinces and territories) and write a professional practice examination.
A P.Eng. represents the highest standard of engineering knowledge, experience and professionalism. For more information on receiving your license in Canada, contact the provincial or territorial association that represents you. A list of the 12 professional associations is shown below along with contact information. Although there are 13 provinces and territories in Canada, there are only 12 engineering licensing bodies, as Nunavut's government has mandated the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of the Northwest Territories to regulate the practice of engineering within its jurisdiction. If you are unsure which association represents licensed engineers in your community, contact the Engineers Canada, which is the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations.
A new website launched by Engineers Canada and funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada provides international engineering graduates with a single, comprehensive source of high-quality information about how to become a licensed engineer in Canada. Click here to learn more.
Engineers Canada
55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300
Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5
Tel: (613) 232-2474
Fax: (613) 230-5759
Email: overtoyou@PEng.ca
Website: www.engineerscanada.ca
Chief Executive Officer: Gerard McDonald, MBA, P.Eng., ICD.D