Canadian CPAs are required to complete 120 hours of CPD in every rolling three-year period, including at least 20 hours each calendar year and four verifiable hours of professional ethics. The rules are made and enforced by the provincial, territorial and Bermudian CPA bodies. This article covers the hours, the cycle, what counts, what doesn't, how declarations are filed and audited, and where the provinces differ.
1. CPA CPD Requirements in Canada at a Glance
| Requirement | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Who sets the rules | The provincial, territorial and Bermudian CPA bodies; the national body doesn't regulate members |
| Annual minimum | 20 hours per calendar year (25 hours per reference year in Quebec) |
| Annual verifiable minimum | 10 hours |
| Rolling three-year minimum | 120 hours |
| Verifiable minimum, three years | 60 hours |
| Professional ethics | 4 verifiable hours in each rolling three-year period |
| Reporting period | The calendar year, plus the rolling cycle of that year and the two before it |
| Declaration | Filed annually with your provincial body, including in a year you claim an exemption |
| Record retention | Five years in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta; four years in Saskatchewan |
| Verification | Every body audits a sample of declarations each year |
| Non-compliance | Remediation plans, penalties, conditions on registration, suspension or cancellation |
Nothing in that table is optional. Where the rules offer guidance rather than impose an obligation, this article says which it is.
2. Who Must Comply with CPD Requirements in Canada
In Canada the profession is provincially regulated. As CPA Canada sets out, the designation is governed and granted by provincial legislation, and accountants are members of their provincial regulator. Your obligation comes from that regulator, not from the national body.
The numbers look alike across the country because the bodies harmonized them. CPA Ontario describes its requirements as aligned with the International Federation of Accountants' CPD standards and harmonized with the provincial CPA bodies, and CPA Alberta follows the same IFAC criteria.
Every member is covered unless an exemption has been applied for and granted. Beyond that:
- New Ontario members: admitted on or before 30 September complete the full requirement for that year; those admitted after 30 September are exempt for the year of admission only. Anyone admitted by transfer or mutual recognition completes full CPD in the year of admission.
- New CPABC members: report CPD in the calendar year of admission with no proration, and their first rolling period starts that year.
- New Saskatchewan CPAs: meet the annual requirement in year one and reach the three-year total by the end of their third year of membership.
- Affiliate and non-resident members: report once. A Saskatchewan affiliate follows their primary jurisdiction and names it; CPABC applies the same approach to members reporting to another Canadian body, or to an international body whose requirements comply with the IFAC standard.
- Licensed practitioners: carry additional category requirements on top of the member minimum.
One national requirement sits above provincial CPD. Members who obtained the designation through a Mutual Recognition or Reciprocal Membership Agreement must finish the CPA Reciprocity Professional Development course within two years of admission: roughly 20 hours of online study in Canadian tax, law and ethics, each module closing with a four-to-six question quiz that needs 80% to pass. Completing the CPA Reciprocity Education and Examination programme within the same two years replaces it.
3. How Many Hours You Need, and How They're Counted
The measure is hours. Not points, not credits.
Quebec is the outlier on the annual floor. The Ordre des CPA du Québec requires 120 hours of continuing education with a direct link to your professional activities, including a minimum of 25 hours per reference year, and CPAs practising public accountancy must devote at least 60 hours per three-year reference period to structured activities in financial reporting and updates of generally accepted audit and review standards, with at least 15 hours each year.
How an hour is measured:
- An hour means an hour of learning, and only the portion of an activity in which learning happened.
- CPA Ontario's Simple Guide to CPD Requirements counts time attending a course, webinar, conference or seminar, and allows preparation or study time to a maximum of five hours for each hour of participation.
- CPA Saskatchewan's Guide to CPD Reporting caps course participation at the actual course hours and notes preparation time may not qualify there, while allowing five hours of preparation per hour of presentation for instruction and research.
- Hours can serve two purposes at once. A Saskatchewan CPA may allocate the same seven-hour course to licensing hours and, where the content fits, to ethics hours.
Nothing is approved in advance. CPA Alberta doesn't pre-determine how much CPD is gained at an activity or what qualifies for each individual CPA, and in Ontario only CPA Ontario determines what meets Regulation 7-2.
The minimum isn't always the whole obligation. Rule 203 of the CPA Code of Professional Conduct requires members to sustain professional competence by keeping informed of developments in professional standards in every function where they provide professional services, and a member may need more than the regulated minimum to comply. Rule 203 is mandatory. The hours it takes are left to your judgment.
4. Annual and Rolling Three-Year Compliance Periods
The reporting period runs 1 January to 31 December. The rolling cycle is the current year plus the two before it, so both tests apply at once and passing one doesn't excuse the other. CPABC's worked example shows how the total shifts each year:
| Year | Hours completed | Rolling three-year total | Minimum needed next year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 40 each, ethics in year 1 | 120 | — |
| 4 | 50 | 130 | 30 |
| 5 | 30 | 120 | 40 |
Ethics recurs with the cycle. A member who completed the four hours in year one and nothing since has to complete them again by year four.
Hours stay in the year you earned them; outside a narrow transitional allowance for certain pre-admission courses, CPABC doesn't permit carry-forward between calendar years. CPA Ontario suggests some members complete 40 hours a year to avoid a large catch-up, which is guidance rather than a requirement.
Declaration deadlines vary most:
| Body | Declaration deadline |
|---|---|
| CPABC | 31 January, for the previous calendar year |
| CPA Alberta | 1 March, following the calendar year |
| CPA Saskatchewan | 30 April, during Spring Renewal |
| CPA Ontario | 1 June, filed with annual membership dues |
5. Verifiable, Unverifiable and Ethics Hour Requirements
Half of every requirement, annual and triennial, has to be verifiable.
- Verifiable: means objective evidence exists that you participated, and you report only the hours actually spent developing new or existing competencies.
- Unverifiable: means independent, informal learning with no objective output. It still has to be tracked, and it can make up no more than half your hours.
- Objectivity has a definition: CPA Saskatchewan excludes confirmation from a close family member or anyone likely to be biased, such as a direct report.
The ethics requirement is four verifiable hours per rolling three-year period, and the content test is set:
- The hours can be accumulated across any number of seminars or courses; they don't have to come from one programme.
- Learning must go past awareness of the rules, standards or guidelines, and must give examples or scenarios applying them to ethical decision-making relevant to your role.
- Where ethics sits inside a longer course, only the structured ethics portion counts.
- Qualifying topics include regulatory updates on the governing Act, bylaws and code of conduct, corporate codes of conduct, independence and conflict of interest, ethical business culture, corporate social responsibility, whistleblowing, anti-money laundering, and bribery and corruption.
- CPA Saskatchewan's Registration Committee expects ethics learning to come from high-quality external sources rather than being self-instructed. That's an expectation, not an hour rule.
British Columbia folds anti-money laundering into the same four hours: CPABC requires 1.5 verifiable hours of AML PD, reportable as verifiable ethics, and members admitted from 1 January 2024 complete it within the three-calendar-year period beginning with their year of admission. It can be taken through CPABC, CPA Canada, an employer or a third-party provider.
Licence holders have category requirements on top:
| Licence | Additional requirement |
|---|---|
| Ontario public accounting licence | CPD directly related to the IES 8 competencies; taxation hours don't count for licensure unless they meet the IES 8 learning outcomes |
| Saskatchewan compilation licence | 10 verifiable hours every three years, at least 3.5 of them on compilation engagements and quality management |
| Saskatchewan specified assurance licence | 25 verifiable hours every three years on relevant assurance services |
| Saskatchewan comprehensive licence | 50 verifiable hours every three years on relevant assurance services |
| Quebec public accountancy permit | 60 structured hours per three-year reference period, minimum 15 a year |
6. What Counts as Eligible CPD
CPD doesn't have to be taken through your provincial body, or even in Canada, and CPABC accepts learning through any institution, organization, employer or online source. It doesn't have to be accounting-related as long as it's relevant to your role, business situation or career aspirations. Ontario adds three tests: relevance to your professional responsibilities and competencies, quantifiability in time, and significant intellectual or practical content.
| Activity | How the hours count |
|---|---|
| Courses, webinars, conferences, seminars | Hours attended while learning, plus preparation to a maximum of five per hour of participation |
| Online self-study courses with an assessment | Verifiable where the activity involves successful completion of an examination or certification |
| Formal education leading to a degree, diploma, certificate or designation | Counted on successful completion, study hours capped at five per hour of participation |
| Teaching or speaking | Preparation to a maximum of five hours per hour of delivery; in Alberta, initial offering only, or where the subject matter has changed significantly |
| Boards and technical committees | Meeting hours where learning occurred, plus preparation at the same five-to-one cap |
| Research, reports and publications | Actual hours researching, authoring or contributing, supported by the output |
| Employer in-house training | Verifiable where the session is structured or organized |
| On-the-job training, casual reading, self-study without an assessment | Unverifiable, capped at half your hours |
What doesn't count
- Volunteering, unless it produces one of the verifiable activities above
- Networking at social functions, lunches and dinners, unless there was learning such as a speaker for the duration
- Anything unrelated to the CPA competencies, or to the IES 8 competencies for licence holders and applicants
- Language courses taken on their own
- Boards of small community groups such as sports teams and school councils, except their audit committees
- Self-study where the examination falls in a different reporting year from the study
- Repeat delivery of a course you've already taught, since the learning happened the first time
7. Online Learning, Self-Study, Webinars and On-Demand Education
Format isn't what decides the category. Evidence is, and the bodies word the line slightly differently:
| Body | Reportable as verifiable | Reportable as unverifiable |
|---|---|---|
| CPABC | Computer-based learning and programmes of study involving successful completion of an examination or certification | Self-study without that completion, including webinars and conference reference materials |
| CPA Alberta | Courses, webinars and e-learning; formal computer-based study leading to a designation, degree, certificate or diploma | Self-study courses and technical reading of published materials |
| CPA Ontario | Learning documented by an independent provider | Self-study with no examination or other objective certification of completion |
| CPA Saskatchewan | Self-study programmes leading to certification or completion of an examination, evidenced by a certificate or transcript | Self-study for which no output is prepared |
So the same webinar can land in either column, depending on what you hold afterward.
The overarching requirement is that the learning develops or maintains the competence your role needs, that you can quantify it in time, and that it relates to your professional responsibilities. An hour becomes verifiable when independent documentation describes the activity, names the provider, connects it to you, dates it and supports the hours claimed.
EverCPE.com provides online computer-based learning for accountants that may help you fulfil your CPD requirements.
EverCPE.com is built as structured, interactive online and computer-based learning rather than something you merely read through like a publication. Each learning session comes with:
- Content shaped around the exact accounting and auditing questions you have, instead of generic off-the-shelf courses
- Substantive material organized around clear learning objectives
- Knowledge checks with feedback as you go, so you fix any misunderstanding while you work through the learning session
- Scored multiple-choice questions that check whether you understand the material
- A certificate of completion once you complete the learning session, naming you, the session and the hours
- A full downloadable handout covering the session, its learning objectives, and its content
In short, EverCPE.com leaves you with documentation and evidence of the learning you completed.
8. Records, Reporting, Declarations and Audits
Declarations are annual, and they're filed regardless of a previously declared exemption or a change in employment status. Ontario members file theirs in My Portal alongside annual membership dues; Alberta's opens on the member portal in November for the year just ending.
- Retention: five years in Alberta, and five years after the end of the reporting period in British Columbia. Saskatchewan sets four years for verifiable CPD documentation and two years for documents supporting an income or special circumstance exemption.
- What documentation has to show: the activity, the provider, the connection to you, the date, and a basis for concluding the reported hours are reasonable.
- How audits are run: Alberta selects members randomly each year and may also select individually, with 25% of random selections producing source documents and 75% reporting activity details. CPABC verifies a sample of reports and exemption declarations for the preceding three-year period. Saskatchewan applies a risk-based lens and monitors anyone selected once in later years. Ontario gives 30 days' notice by email and asks for course name, research area, method, provider, start and end dates, and hours for every activity.
| Accepted as evidence | Not accepted on its own |
|---|---|
| Certificate of completion or official transcript | A summary line such as "various courses"; each activity is listed separately |
| Confirmation of participation from the provider or employer | A log validated by a close family member or a direct report |
| Attendance record, course outline or agenda | A preparation log with no underlying material or confirmation |
| Course assignment and exam results | Records of unverifiable activity offered as proof of verifiable hours |
| Copy of course payment or invoice |
What happens when the hours aren't there:
| Body | Consequence |
|---|---|
| CPA Ontario | Plan of Action filed within 14 days naming activities and providers, 120 days to complete; $25 late fee after 1 June; suspension for declarations outstanding after 30 June |
| CPA Alberta | $150 penalty for failing to report by 1 March; suspension after 30 days; cancellation 60 days after suspension |
| CPA Saskatchewan | "Conditional" status shown on the public register and Find a CPA directory until the shortfall and the current year are both completed; referral to the Registration Committee if conditions aren't met |
| CPABC | Membership may be suspended or cancelled under the bylaws |
9. Exemptions, Reduced Requirements and Special Circumstances
Exemptions are applied for, granted and re-applied for each year. They don't remove the declaration, and they don't remove you from the audit sample.
Retirement (Ontario)
You must meet the definition in Regulation 7-2 and have provided no Reliance Services in the reporting year. The definition turns on having ceased full-time work, not holding a public accounting licence, being at least 55 as of 31 December, and age plus years of membership totalling 70 or more. Full CPD still applies to retired members who sit on the board of a reporting issuer or public interest entity, or who provide accounting services to the public at any income level. Other professional services are exempt only where gross annual income falls below the income test amount CPA Ontario publishes and adjusts annually.
Leave and interruption
Ontario grants exemptions where you haven't worked for six months or more in the reporting year through unemployment, maternity, parental or family care leave, or medical leave, and no one relied on your skills as a CPA in that time. Extraordinary circumstances are considered by the Registrar where no other exemption fits and documentation is supplied. CPABC requires medical requests to include its medical form completed by your practitioner, and states plainly that being too busy isn't a valid basis, since members are expected to plan time for CPD annually.
Low professional income
CPABC exempts members whose gross active revenues stay under a published threshold, provided they don't engage in public practice during the calendar year, don't sit on the board or audit, finance or similar committee of a public company or reporting issuer, and comply with Rule 203. Employment Insurance benefits, pension income, support payments and disability income are excluded from that revenue figure. Saskatchewan runs two bands: below the lower published figure, both fees and CPD are waived; between the two, fees are reduced but CPD continues in full. Saskatchewan also offers temporary and permanent non-practice exemptions for CPAs who aren't practising, don't hold themselves out as a CPA and aren't relied on for CPA technical competencies.
Members abroad
A Saskatchewan primary member permanently resident outside Canada may request an exemption where they belong to an equivalent professional body with substantially similar requirements.
An exempt year doesn't affect the three-year total the same way everywhere:
| Body | Effect of an exempt year |
|---|---|
| CPA Ontario | Total is pro-rated; one exempt year reduces the three-year requirement to 80 hours, half verifiable |
| CPA Alberta | Exempt year is excluded and the cycle reaches back a further year; learning done during the exempt year may still count toward the three-year total |
| CPA Saskatchewan | Total drops from 120 to 100 hours and 60 to 50 verifiable on return from an annual exemption, with the four ethics hours unchanged; a CPD plan needs the Registrar's approval after more than two years exempt |
Proof can be requested. CPABC may ask for evidence of eligibility, and failing to provide it can bring revocation of the exemption or referral to the Investigation Committee.
10. Official Sources and Member Responsibility
This article sets out the published rules of the Canadian CPA bodies as at the research date in the verification log below. It doesn't replace your body's governing bylaws, regulations and CPD policies, its own guidance, or advice about your situation.
Research verified: 23 September 2026, against the CPD rules, regulations and guidance published by CPA Ontario, CPABC, CPA Alberta, CPA Saskatchewan, the Ordre des CPA du Québec and CPA Canada as at that date.
| Source | What it supports | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| CPA Canada — CPA provincial and regional accounting bodies | Provincial regulation of the designation and the national body's role | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Canada — CPA Reciprocity Professional Development course | MRA and RMA members, two-year deadline, course content and pass threshold | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Ontario — Continuing Professional Development | Hours, declaration window and deadline, late fee and suspension, Rule 203, licence requirements, exemption categories | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Ontario — A Simple Guide to CPD Requirements | Hour caps, documentation, what isn't CPD, ethics content test and topics, retirement and leave exemptions, pro-rating, audit and Plan of Action | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Ontario — Regulation 7-2 | Governing regulation for Ontario CPD | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPABC — CPD Requirements | Prescribed minimums, verifiable and unverifiable examples, ethics and AML PD, rolling-cycle example, deadline, exemptions and thresholds, verification and retention | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Alberta — CPD Reporting | Annual declaration, deadline, penalties and cancellation, audit sampling, five-year retention | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Alberta — Three-Year Rolling Cycle | Treatment of exempt years within the rolling cycle | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Alberta — Verifiable vs. Unverifiable CPD | E-learning and self-study classification, instruction hours | 23 Sep 2026 |
| CPA Saskatchewan — Guide to CPD Reporting | New, affiliate and out-of-country members, documentation and objectivity, ethics expectations, exemptions and reduced totals, licensing hours, deficiency process, retention | 23 Sep 2026 |
| Ordre des CPA du Québec — Compulsory continuing education | Quebec's 120-hour requirement, 25-hour annual minimum, public accountancy structured hours | 23 Sep 2026 |
Disclaimer: CPD requirements can depend on individual membership status, professional circumstances, jurisdiction and other factors. Requirements may also change over time. Members are responsible for confirming their current CPD obligations directly with their provincial, territorial or Bermudian CPA body and, where applicable, their local jurisdiction, employer, regulator or other relevant authority. EverCPE.com does not guarantee that completion of any particular course will satisfy a member's individual CPD requirements.
