The route to practising as a naturopathic doctor in Canada: a CNME-accredited naturopathic medical program, the NPLEX or the Ontario entry-to-practice examinations, and registration with the regulator in the province where you will practise. Regulated and unregulated provinces are stated as the regulators draw them.
Applies in: across Canada
This guide covers one route only: a student in Canada who completes an undergraduate degree, earns a Doctor of Naturopathy degree from a program accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME), passes the entry-to-practice examinations the destination province requires, and registers with that province's regulator. It is an administrative guide to the process. It makes no claim about the effectiveness of any naturopathic treatment, and it is not medical advice. It is not the route for a practitioner who trained outside Canada, and it is not a guide to practising in a province or territory where the profession is unregulated: where no regulator exists, there is no registration route to describe, and this guide says so plainly rather than inventing one.
Two distinctions control everything that follows. First, the school and the regulator are different bodies. The CNME accredits programs; the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) administers the NPLEX; and the provincial regulator licenses you. Passing an examination does not license you. Second, the examinations are not the same in every province. Ontario runs its own examinations and is moving to a national examination. Most other regulated provinces accept the NPLEX. Choosing the wrong examination set is the expensive mistake this guide exists to prevent: decide where you will practise first, then choose examinations.
Regulation is provincial. The clearest current statement of which jurisdictions regulate the profession comes from the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA) labour-mobility page, which lists the Canadian regulatory authorities whose registrants may apply to Alberta as labour-mobility applicants: the College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia, the Saskatchewan Association of Naturopathic Practitioners, the Manitoba Naturopathic Association, the College of Naturopaths of Ontario, the Nova Scotia Chiropractic and Naturopathic Regulator, and the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services. That list is the regulated set this guide relies on. It is drawn from a regulator's own page, not from an association's summary.
For Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, and Nunavut, this guide states no registration steps, because no regulator page for those jurisdictions could be verified. The absence of a verified regulator page is not a finding that practice is permitted or prohibited there, and it is not an invitation to use a protected title. If you intend to work in one of those jurisdictions, contact the provincial government department responsible for health professions and the provincial naturopathic association, and get the position in writing before you commit to education or examinations for that destination. Titles are protected by legislation in the regulated provinces: in Alberta, for example, the CNDA states that only regulated members on the General Register may use the protected titles, and that an unregistered practitioner offering naturopathic services is unlikely to have the qualifications the legislation requires. The same title discipline applies in the other regulated provinces, each under its own statute.
The provinces list in this guide's frontmatter includes all thirteen provinces and territories because the guide discusses the national examination and education picture, not because the registration route described here applies unchanged in every jurisdiction. Inclusion in that list is not a claim that a registration route exists in an unregulated jurisdiction.
Admission to a naturopathic medical program in Canada is graduate entry. The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) states that to be considered for admission to its four-year naturopathic program, applicants must have completed a three- or four-year bachelor's degree in any discipline at an accredited institution, with prerequisite courses completed prior to admission. CCNM offers online prerequisite courses in general chemistry, general biology, human life sciences, and psychology. Credit is given for the completion of prerequisites only when a grade of C-minus (60 per cent) or better is earned. For September admission, courses must be completed by August 31 of the year of application; for January admission, by December 31.
The decision to admit rests primarily on the applicant's undergraduate grade point average, reported as an average of 3.3 within a range of 2.7 to 4.0, and the personal interview, with a personal statement or essay and three letters of reference also required for the four-year program. At the Boucher Campus in British Columbia, admission requires an undergraduate degree of no less than 90 credits with an expected minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7, and a minimum final grade of 60 per cent in each required prerequisite course, with an expected overall minimum cumulative science GPA of 2.5. Prerequisite courses must be at the 100 level or above and taken at a recognized Canadian or regionally accredited American postsecondary institution, or the equivalent as assessed by ICES or WES, and laboratory courses do not fulfil the required prerequisite credit hours.
CCNM has two campuses: Toronto and Boucher. Its Toronto viewbook describes the Toronto campus program as the only Doctor of Naturopathy degree in Canada offered through a four-year, full-time naturopathic medicine program, offered under the written consent of Ontario's Ministry of Colleges and Universities for the period from April 26, 2022 to April 26, 2029. Do not treat that consent period as a guarantee about any other school: confirm the accreditation status of any program you consider directly with the CNME or the school, before you enrol. A program that is not CNME-accredited does not lead to NPLEX eligibility, and NABNE states that eligibility requires educational requirements at a program accredited by the CNME.
CCNM also offers a two-year bridge delivery for international medical graduates at the Toronto Campus only, for foreign-trained medical doctors living in Canada. That is a separate admission stream with its own requirements, including a World Education Services course-by-course evaluation of the medical degree. It is mentioned here only so that internationally trained physicians do not mistake it for the standard four-year route or assume it applies to other prior credentials.
The program itself is four years of full-time study. Alberta's regulator states the education requirement as successful completion of a four-year program of studies in naturopathic medicine approved by the Council, and refers applicants to its approved-schools list. British Columbia's regulator requires evidence of graduation from a recognized education program. Ontario's regulator requires graduation from a CNME-accredited program or a finding of substantial equivalence through its Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) process.
No program count, tuition figure, or curriculum breakdown is stated in this guide, because none was verified on a linked official page for every accredited program, and program details change by school and by year. What matters for registration is the accreditation test: the program must hold CNME accreditation or candidate status at the relevant time, and you must be able to prove graduation from it with transcripts the regulator accepts. Keep transcripts, graduation confirmation, and any clinical documentation the school issues, because every regulator in this guide asks for education evidence as part of the registration file, and Alberta's documentation list expressly includes CNME-accredited school transcripts.
This is where the route forks, and the fork must be decided before you book anything.
The Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) are a suite of competency-based examinations. NABNE determines eligibility, administers the examinations, and sends results and transcripts to regulatory authorities; NPLEX, Inc. prepares the examinations and sets the passing score. Regulators in Canada, with some exceptions, recognize NABNE as the examining body and the NPLEX as the examinations that ensure candidates meet minimal competency standards.
Part I, the Biomedical Science Examination, may be taken after you have completed all biomedical science coursework at an approved naturopathic medical program. It is an integrated examination of 200 items covering anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and genetics, microbiology and immunology, and pathology, administered in two sections of two and a half hours each. Part II, the Core Clinical Science Examination, may be taken after you have passed Part I. It is an integrated, case-based examination of approximately 80 case clusters and 400 items, covering diagnosis, materia medica, other treatment modalities, and medical interventions, administered in three sections over three days. There are also four Part II Clinical Elective Examinations, each of 75 items with 90 minutes allowed, which some jurisdictions require for licensure. NABNE states that it does not allow applicants to take Part I and Part II within the same NPLEX administration, and that Part II candidates must have passed Part I. There is no predetermined passing score: the Angoff method is used to determine the passing score for minimal competence. Unofficial results are distributed electronically through Prometric approximately seven weeks after the administration. If you do not pass the Part II Core Clinical Science Examination within ten years of passing Part I, you must retake and pass Part I before taking or retaking Part II. Confirm the current application windows, eligibility rules, and sitting schedule on NABNE's own pages before you apply: the February 2027 application window cited on NABNE's application-process page ran October 1 to 30, 2026, and windows change by administration.
Ontario does not use the NPLEX as its entry-to-practice examination for current graduates. Applicants must successfully complete the examinations stipulated in the Registration Regulation, including the College's Ontario Clinical (Practical) Examinations, the Ontario Clinical Sciences Examination, which replaced NPLEX II in Ontario as of April 1, 2019, the NPLEX I only if completed before November 15, 2020 or otherwise the Ontario Biomedical Examination, and the online Ontario Jurisprudence Examination, before making an application for registration. The College's registration handbook also requires a Healthcare Provider Level CPR certificate issued within 24 months of the application and not expired, and states plainly that applicants may not practise naturopathy, use the ND designation, or use the title Doctor until the College has issued a registration number. The College's exam guidance notes a two-year time limit within which entry-to-practice examinations must be completed to remain eligible for registration, after which an applicant may be sent for assessment by the Registration Committee.
That Ontario examination set is being replaced. On April 1, 2027, the College will transition to the Canadian Alliance of Naturopathic Regulatory Authorities Qualifying Examinations (CANRA-QE) for entry to practice in Ontario, replacing the Ontario Clinical (Practical) Examinations, the Ontario Clinical Sciences Examination, and the Ontario Biomedical Examination. The College stated it would offer Winter 2027 sessions of all three Ontario examinations for candidates already completing their requirements, with dates announced in late October 2026. Read the College's Exam Transition Policy for how previous results, unsuccessful attempts, and accommodations carry across the transition. Do not book an Ontario examination sitting from an older checklist without checking whether the sitting you want is an Ontario examination or a CANRA-QE sitting.
Alberta accepts one of three written examination pathways for the General Register: NPLEX Part I and NPLEX Part II Core Clinical Sciences; the College of Naturopaths of Ontario Biomedical Examination and Clinical Sciences Examination (written); or the CANRA-QE written examinations. In each case the applicant must also successfully complete the CANRA-QE Objective Structured Clinical Examination, with previous successful completion of the British Columbia oral practical examination or the Ontario clinical examination (practical) accepted in place of the CANRA-QE OSCE if passed within two years before the CNDA receives a completed application. The applicant must also pass the CNDA jurisprudence examination and satisfy a currency condition: within the two years before the Registrar receives a completed application, have completed the education and examination requirements; or within the three years before, have completed 1,200 hours of professional services as a registered member in good standing in active practice in a recognized jurisdiction; or demonstrate to the Registrar's satisfaction current competence to practise.
Ontario registration follows the examinations. Applicants must meet the educational requirements, the entry-to-practice examinations, good character requirements, and language proficiency requirements in the Registration Regulation under the Naturopathy Act, 2007. Registrants must be able to communicate effectively in English or French. The application proceeds in steps set out in the College's handbook: an application for pre-registration, then the application for registration, then issuance of a certificate of registration. Supporting documents include evidence of education, examination results, a criminal record check and good character evidence, language proficiency attestation, and the CPR certificate described above. Until the College issues a registration number, the applicant may not practise, use the ND designation, or use the title Doctor. Applicants already registered in another regulated Canadian jurisdiction apply under labour-mobility provisions, with proof of registration, language fluency, and identity evidence, and are not eligible if they hold only an inactive registration elsewhere. Confirm the current application forms, document list, and processing expectations on the College's applicants pages before you file: this guide states no fee and no processing time for Ontario registration, because neither was verified on a linked College page.
British Columbia regulates naturopathic physicians through the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC). Older sources name the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia (CNPBC); that college amalgamated into CCHPBC, and the CCHPBC bylaws and schedules now govern. The CCHPBC applicants page lists fourteen items for a full licence application, including identity and business contact information, demonstration of meeting the eligibility standards for naturopathic medicine in Schedule 4, a good character declaration, professional liability protection of at least $5,000,000 per claim or occurrence, a criminal record check authorization, current first aid certification as required for the licence class, evidence of graduation from a recognized education program confirming graduation no more than three years before the application date, proof of successful completion of the jurisprudence examination and any other examinations the Licence Committee requires, extra-jurisdictional regulator information dated within 60 days where applicable, English language proficiency information, payment of outstanding amounts, and the applicable fees in Schedule 2. Applicants holding a practising licence in another Canadian jurisdiction provide the full-licence requirements with the exception of the eligibility-standards demonstration and the three-year graduation evidence, subject to English language proficiency requirements in the current jurisdiction. Note that the English language proficiency details on that page were stated as being finalized and to be published soon: confirm the current policy on the College's site before you rely on any particular test or evidence. No fee amount is stated in this guide for British Columbia: the applicable fees sit in Schedule 2 of the bylaws, and the schedule, not this guide, governs.
Alberta registration is a practice permit issued by the Registrar of the CNDA, on the General, Provisional, or Courtesy Register. The General Register requirements are set out in Step 4 above: the four-year approved program, one accepted written examination pathway, the CANRA-QE OSCE or accepted equivalent, the CNDA jurisprudence examination, and a currency condition. Documentation includes proof of identity and Canadian citizenship or lawful admittance to work in Canada, an original current criminal record check, CPR certification, three character reference letters, professional liability insurance, CNME-accredited school transcripts, written and practical examination results, a letter of standing where applicable, and certification for restricted activities where authorizations are sought. Once a complete application is received, the CNDA states it can take four to six weeks for a practice permit to be issued, provided the application is approved. Applicants on the Provisional Register, who have completed the program but not yet passed the examinations, may practise only under the supervision of a regulated member on the General Register and in accordance with Registrar conditions, and are prohibited from using the title Doctor or the abbreviation Dr. in connection with providing a health service, though they may use the title naturopath. Labour-mobility applicants currently actively registered with one of the six regulators listed in Step 1 follow a shorter document list, omitting transcripts and examination results, but must still complete the CNDA jurisprudence examination online as part of the application. No Alberta fee is stated in this guide: the CNDA fee schedule governs, and the one fee figure in search results for labour-mobility applicants was not verified on a linked fee-schedule page.
For Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories, this guide states no registration steps, because no regulator page for those jurisdictions could be verified. Their regulators are named on the CNDA labour-mobility page, which verifies that they regulate the profession and that their registrants may apply into Alberta. It does not state their education, examination, or application requirements. Contact the regulator directly — the Saskatchewan Association of Naturopathic Practitioners, the Manitoba Naturopathic Association, the Nova Scotia Chiropractic and Naturopathic Regulator, or the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services — and confirm the current requirements before you plan education or examinations for that destination. Do not carry Ontario, British Columbia, or Alberta examination or document requirements into another province on assumption: Alberta's acceptance of three different written pathways shows how much the accepted examinations vary, and each regulator's jurisprudence and currency rules are its own.
This guide states no NPLEX, CANRA-QE, College, or university fee, no salary or income figure, no program count or seat count, and no pass rate for any examination. Fees sit on the examination bodies' and regulators' own fee schedules and change by sitting and by year; the Alberta labour-mobility application fee in search results was not verified on a linked fee-schedule page and is therefore not stated. It states no registration processing time except the CNDA's four-to-six-week statement for a complete, approved application. It states no registration steps for Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, or Nunavut beyond the regulator names and the regulated-jurisdiction list above. Confirm every fee, deadline, and validity period on the regulator or examination body's page that owns it, on the day you apply or pay.
No. The regulated jurisdictions named on the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta labour-mobility page are British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories. In those jurisdictions a regulator controls who may use the protected titles and practise. In Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, and Nunavut, no naturopathic regulator page could be verified, and this guide states no registration route for those jurisdictions. Do not assume that registration in one province authorizes practice in another, and do not assume that the absence of a regulator means the title is free to use: check the law and the association position in the jurisdiction where you intend to work before you advertise services or use a protected title.
Not necessarily. Ontario has its own entry-to-practice examinations: the Ontario Clinical Sciences Examination, the Ontario Biomedical Examination, the Ontario Clinical (Practical) Examinations, and the Ontario Jurisprudence Examination. The College of Naturopaths of Ontario states that the Ontario Biomedical Examination replaced NPLEX II in Ontario as of April 1, 2019, and that NPLEX I counts only if it was completed before November 15, 2020. If you want maximum flexibility to practise outside Ontario as well, the College's own guidance suggests considering NPLEX Part I and Part II in addition to the Ontario examinations, because other regulators accept the NPLEX pathway. Decide where you will practise before you choose examinations, and confirm the current combination on the regulator's page for that province, because Ontario transitions to the CANRA Qualifying Examinations on April 1, 2027.
The CANRA-QE is the Canadian Alliance of Naturopathic Regulatory Authorities Qualifying Examinations. The College of Naturopaths of Ontario announced that on April 1, 2027, the College will transition to the CANRA-QE for entry to practice in Ontario, replacing the Ontario Clinical (Practical) Examinations, the Ontario Clinical Sciences Examination, and the Ontario Biomedical Examination. The College stated it would offer Winter 2027 sessions of all three Ontario examinations to support candidates already completing their requirements, with dates to be announced in late October 2026. Alberta already accepts the CANRA-QE written examinations and the CANRA-QE Objective Structured Clinical Examination as one of its written pathways. If you are mid-examination in Ontario, read the College's Exam Transition Policy before you book another sitting: previous results, unsuccessful attempts, and accommodations are addressed there, and this guide does not restate them.
No, not directly. This guide describes the domestic route through a CNME-accredited program in Canada. If you trained outside Canada, your first step is the regulator in the province where you want to practise, which will tell you whether your education is assessed through its Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition process, as in Ontario, or through another assessment route. The North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners states that eligibility to take the NPLEX requires educational requirements at a program accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, and directs internationally educated applicants to its eligibility requirements. Do not enrol in a Canadian program or book an examination until the regulator has told you, in writing, which assessment applies to your credentials. The general foreign-credentials guide linked below covers the starting point for credential recognition across professions.
Not automatically. British Columbia now regulates naturopathic physicians through the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC, which amalgamated the former College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia with other complementary-health colleges. Its applicants page sets out a full licence application, including graduation from a recognized education program no more than three years before the application date, the jurisprudence examination and any other examinations the Licence Committee requires, a criminal record check, first aid certification, and professional liability protection of at least $5,000,000 per claim or occurrence. Applicants who hold a practising naturopathic medicine licence in another Canadian jurisdiction follow a modified list that omits the eligibility-standards demonstration and the three-year graduation evidence, subject to English language proficiency requirements. Read the current CCHPBC applicants page before you move: the former CNPBC name appears in older sources, and the current College, bylaws, and schedules govern.
At the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, admission to the four-year Doctor of Naturopathy program requires a three- or four-year bachelor's degree in any discipline at an accredited institution, plus prerequisite courses completed before admission. CCNM offers online prerequisite courses in general chemistry, general biology, human life sciences, and psychology. Credit is given for prerequisites only when a grade of C-minus (60 per cent) or better is earned, and for September admission the courses must be completed by August 31 of the year of application. Admission decisions rest primarily on the undergraduate grade point average, reported as an average of 3.3, and the admissions interview, with a personal statement and three letters of reference. The Boucher Campus expects a degree of no less than 90 credits with an expected minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7. Confirm the current prerequisite list and deadlines on CCNM's own admissions pages, because prerequisite requirements differ in detail between the Toronto and Boucher campuses.
Figures that could not be verified on an official page are left out of this guide: all NPLEX, CANRA-QE, College, and university fees, including any Alberta labour-mobility application fee; all salary and income figures; any count of CNME-accredited programs or seat counts; pass rates for any examination; and any registration steps for Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, or Nunavut beyond the regulator names and the regulated-jurisdiction list above. Check the NABNE, CCNM, and provincial regulator pages linked above for current figures and steps before you apply or pay.