CPA CPD Requirements in Canada

Every Canadian CPA outside Quebec must complete 20 CPD hours a year (at least 10 verifiable) and 120 hours over each rolling three-year period (at least 60 verifiable, including 4 verifiable ethics hours). Quebec runs a separate regime. What changes by province is the declaration deadline — from January 31 in British Columbia to September 30 in Quebec.

If you are looking for one date, it is in the table below. If you have moved provinces or hold registrations in more than one, read the notes underneath it — that is where the differences actually live.

CPD Declaration Deadlines by Province and Territory

Every deadline reports the previous calendar year. A January 31 deadline is therefore a month after the year it covers has closed, while Ontario's June 1 gives five months of grace — which is why Ontario members are the ones most often surprised by an audit of activities they can no longer evidence.

The Common Requirement

Outside Quebec, the provincial and territorial bodies have harmonised on the same numbers, which follow the International Federation of Accountants' IES 7 standard:

Verifiable hours are those you can evidence independently — a certificate, a registration record, a documented attendance list. Unverifiable hours are genuine learning without that proof, such as technical reading. Both count toward the totals; only verifiable hours satisfy the 10 and the 60. The distinction is covered properly in our guide to CPD hours for Canadian CPAs.

The four ethics hours are the requirement most often missed, because a member can clear 120 hours comfortably and still be non-compliant on four. If you need one quickly, a live webinar is the fastest verifiable hour available.

For the annual minimum in a single purchase, the 20 verifiable hours package covers a full year. For the whole cycle, the 60-hour three-year package contains all 60 verifiable hours with the four ethics hours inside it.

Where the Provinces Actually Differ

Quebec: a different regime, not a variation

The Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec sets its own rules. Members complete 25 hours a year and 120 hours over a three-year cycle, with a declaration deadline of September 30.

The figure most often reported incorrectly is the 15. It is widely repeated that Quebec requires “25 hours annually, with at least 15 verifiable”. That is backwards. Fifteen hours is the maximum that may come from unverifiable self-study activity — it is a ceiling on the informal category, not a floor on the formal one. In practice that means at least 10 of the 25 must be structured.

Holders of a public accountancy permit face tighter constraints again: a 15-hour cap on self-study across the entire three-year cycle, and 60 structured hours specific to public accountancy within it.

British Columbia: the AML hours

CPABC requires 1.5 verifiable CPD hours in anti-money laundering by December 31, 2026. These count toward the four-hour ethics requirement rather than sitting on top of it, so members who plan their ethics hours around AML content satisfy both at once. CPABC also administers CPA Yukon, so Yukon members follow the BC rules and the BC deadline.

Alberta: no first-year grace

CPA Alberta has eliminated the exemption for the year of admission. New members are subject to the requirement from their first year, pro-rated. This catches people who qualified under the old rule and assumed it still applied.

Newfoundland and Labrador: the expensive one to miss

A $100 late fee, against Ontario's $25. Worth knowing if January is a busy month for you.

Is CPD the Same as CPE?

Substantially, yes — the terminology differs by country. CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is the Canadian term; CPE (Continuing Professional Education) is the American one. Both describe the ongoing learning a designated accountant must complete to keep their designation in good standing.

The rules are not interchangeable. US CPAs are licensed by state boards, and CPE requirements are set state by state — commonly 120 hours over three years, but with reporting periods, ethics rules and subject requirements that vary considerably between jurisdictions and are governed by NASBA standards rather than by IES 7.

If you hold both a Canadian CPA designation and a US licence, you satisfy both regimes separately. Many activities count twice, but the reporting does not carry across, and a Canadian CPD declaration does not discharge a US CPE obligation. Check your state board's rules directly — this page covers the Canadian side only.

How to Meet the Requirement

The mechanics are the same everywhere: complete relevant learning, keep the evidence, declare by the deadline.

• Front-load the verifiable hours. They are the constraint. Unverifiable hours accumulate on their own through work you were doing anyway; verifiable hours require a decision and usually a payment.
• Check the ethics count first, every January. It is a small number that is easy to miss and impossible to fix retroactively.
• File the certificate the day you earn it. Audits look back three years, and providers retire portals.
• Record unverifiable hours as you go. Nobody can reconstruct a year of technical reading in the week before a deadline and produce a number they can defend.

For technical currency that does double duty as work you needed to do anyway, the Canadian CPA latest tax and practice updates package covers current developments across tax and practice.

What Happens If You Do Not Meet the Requirement

Consequences escalate, and they differ by jurisdiction, but the pattern is consistent: a late fee first, then administrative follow-up, then suspension of membership for continued non-compliance. Ontario charges $25 after June 1 and raises suspension after June 30; Newfoundland charges $100.

If you are short on hours rather than late on filing, the remedy is a plan of action — a written commitment to make up the deficient hours within a defined period, submitted to your provincial body. Members who come forward voluntarily are treated very differently from members found short in an audit.

What you should not do is declare compliance you cannot evidence. A shortfall is a CPD matter. A false declaration is a professional conduct matter. The gap between those two is much wider than the gap between filing on time and filing late.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CPD hours does a Canadian CPA need?
Outside Quebec: 20 hours a year with at least 10 verifiable, and 120 hours over each rolling three-year period with at least 60 verifiable, including 4 verifiable ethics hours. Quebec requires 25 hours a year and 120 over three years.

When is my CPD declaration due?
It depends on your jurisdiction, and the range is wide — January 31 in BC, Newfoundland and Yukon, through to September 30 in Quebec. See the table above.

Do CPD requirements differ between provinces?
The hours are harmonised outside Quebec. The deadlines are not, and there are local additions — BC's AML hours, Alberta's removal of the first-year exemption, Newfoundland's $100 late fee.

Is the three-year period fixed or rolling?
Rolling. Each year you are assessed on that year and the two preceding it, so a deficient year affects three assessments.

What if I am registered in more than one province?
You satisfy each body's requirements separately, including each deadline. The hours themselves will generally count in both, but the declarations are independent.

Does CPD earned in Canada count toward US CPE?
Often the activity qualifies, but the obligations are separate and reporting does not carry across. Confirm with the relevant state board.