There is good news for foreign-trained engineers who wish to immigrate to Canada with Ontario as their province of intended destination. They will no longer be required to have Canadian work experience to become licensed in Ontario. The province is adopting a new law to remove the barriers keeping skilled immigrants from working in their former professions.
On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) became the first professional regulatory body to remove the requirement from their application criteria. By doing so, PEO has made it easier for foreign-trained engineers to earn professional designations in Ontario and enter the workforce as licensed engineers quicker. There are roughly 7,000 vacant engineering positions in Ontario that need to be filled.
Despite the removal of the Canadian experience requirement, licensing applicants to the engineering profession are still required to have 48-months of professional experience in engineering and pass a national professional practice exam that includes ethics, professional practice, engineering, law and professional liability.