To become a licensed professional engineer in Canada, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. You cannot become licensed before immigrating to Canada;

• have a minimum bachelor's degree in engineering from a recognized Canadian university program; or have an otherwise recognized engineering degree and completed an assigned set of engineering examinations as proof of academic credentials. If a Canadian university or other organization recognizes your other degree, that does not affect decisions made by the Canadian Council for Professional Engineers (CCPE) or any engineering association;

• complete four years of approved engineering work. Work experience must be engineering work as outlined by the provincial/territorial engineering association, properly documented on regular intervals and approved direct P.Eng. supervisor and by the registration committee. At least 12 months of your approved experience must be in a Canadian environment so that you are familiar with Canadian codes and standards;

• pass professional practice examinations, to demonstrate that you understand Canadian standards of professional practice, ethics, engineering law, and liability;

• pay the yearly license dues to provincial/territorial engineering association

• be of good character and reputation;

• be able to speak English (French in Quebec, English or French in New Brunswick).

Examinations required to become a professional engineer in Canada

Your provincial/territorial engineering association will tell you what examinations you have to write to become a member. You will first have to demonstrate your experience and education in an evaluation. Then they will give you exams. The exams in most provinces and territories are offered in English only (French or English in Quebec and New Brunswick).

Province to province registration

An engineer can only practice engineering while licensed in their province/territory. However, there is an agreement between all the provinces and territories that allows an engineer to move between provinces and territories without having to repeat the entire licensing process.

To learn more about the engineering profession in Canada, here are some links.

• Canadian Council of Professional Engineers

• P.Eng. The license to engineer

• The ritual of the calling of an engineer

• National Engineering Week

• Engineering Institute of Canada

• Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada (ACEC)

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering