Easing Restrictions on Trade in Services for Regulated Professions in Canada

Quick Hits

• Workers in certain certified professions in Canada can now more easily obtain authorization to work in other jurisdictions.
• Labour mobility between the provinces and territories, and at the federal level, has reduced red-tape barriers to help qualified professionals work outside the province where they are licensed or regulated.
• These changes make it easier for employers to reach a larger labour pool while reducing delays and paperwork.

Federal—Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act

The Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act aims to remove federal barriers to labour mobility within Canada through the recognition of comparable provincial and territorial requirements.

The act permits authorized workers to more easily perform the same licensed or regulated work in a federal jurisdiction, or to secure a federal license.

The act is meant to benefit businesses and workers whose work relates to:

1. Energy efficiency requirements
2. Wild animal and plant trade requirements
3. Canada land surveyors
4. Locomotive engineers, conductors, yard foremen, and transfer hostlers

Under the act, businesses now have the option to meet the federal requirements by satisfying a comparable provincial or territorial requirement in the above areas. For this option to apply, the authorized worker must:

• be in good standing within the province or territory that issued the worker’s authorization,
• have paid the federal regulator any associated fees or dues,
• have taken an oath or solemn affirmation related to the issuance of the federal authorization, and
• have successfully completed any applicable examination and assessment required under the federal Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations.

Ontario—‘As of Right’ Framework

Similarly, as of January 1, 2026, Ontario’s new “As of Right” framework, under the Ontario Labour Mobility Act (OLMA), allows workers in regulated, non-health occupations who are certified to work in another province or territory to apply through a streamlined process to begin working in Ontario.

More than fifty professions, including engineers, architects, and electricians are included in the framework.

The framework provides a one-time-only, six-month period during which workers may work in their permitted regulated occupation while the relevant regulatory authority makes a full certification decision.

To apply, workers must first submit their registration documentation to the relevant Ontario regulatory authority and meet other requirements imposed by that authority for the purpose of “As of Right.”

Within ten business days of submission, workers will receive confirmation of their deemed certification in Ontario and may begin working. Workers have until the end of the six-month period to complete their full application and registration with the relevant Ontario regulatory authority for their profession.

Before the introduction of this framework, it could take up to six months for professionals to be able to work in their regulated occupation while awaiting their Ontario registration.

Key Takeaway

Together, these reductions of barriers to trade in services will allow employers to access larger pools of qualified applicants and decrease the time it takes for workers to start work.

Ogletree Deakins’ Calgary, Montréal, and Toronto offices will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on the Canada and Cross-Border blogs as additional information becomes available.

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