British Columbia: regulators merged and an independent Superintendent
Following Harry Cayton's inquiry, BC cut its health regulators from 20 to 6 and created an independent oversight office. The new Act came into force on 1 April 2026.
Country
Canada
Reform is driven by labour mobility between provinces more than by the language of right-touch. Ontario psychology is the flashpoint, and British Columbia has rebuilt its regulators.
Reforms
Public funding for nurse practitioner and pharmacist primary care
Under a new federal interpretation of the Canada Health Act, medically necessary care that nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives provide in place of a doctor is to be publicly funded. The policy took effect in April 2026, with penalties from April 2027. Ontario missed the deadline.
Ontario "As of Right": psychologists from other provinces can practise immediately
Since January 2026, psychologists fully registered elsewhere in Canada can practise in Ontario for up to six months while they complete local registration.
Ontario: one "psychologist" title from a master's degree
Ontario's psychology regulator voted to register master's graduates as psychologists and cut post-degree experience from four years to one. The proposal is now with Ontario's Health Minister; the title change would also need the legislature to amend the Act.
Pharmacist prescribing in Ontario and Nova Scotia
Ontario pharmacists now prescribe for 28 minor ailments, after 9 were added on 1 July 2026; Nova Scotia pharmacists can prescribe for conditions including hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
No Canada reforms for this profession yet.
Explainers & analysis
Nothing written for this profession yet.
Library
An inquiry into the performance of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia and the Health Professions Act
Harry Cayton, who developed right-touch regulation as chief executive of the UK's Professional Standards Authority, found the college met 17 of the 28 Standards of Good Regulation, and that many but not all of BC's health colleges showed 'a lack of relentless focus on the safety of patients'. He recommended fewer colleges, appointed boards and independent oversight.
Why it matters: Right-touch used to make regulators more accountable to the public, not to deregulate. It set off the reforms that led to BC's 2026 Act.
Statement by the CPBAO on registration changes
Ontario's regulator announces that its Board approved registering psychologists from approved graduate programs, cutting the experience requirement for master's candidates from four years to one, and recognising accrediting bodies outside the US. It says it will keep working on approaches that support 'fairness, labour mobility, and improved access to care'.
Why it matters: The regulator's own words. Quote this rather than second-hand descriptions of the change.
Rethinking who can be called a psychologist
An opinion piece by psychologist Monnica T. Williams supporting Ontario's proposal to let master's and doctoral graduates share the psychologist title, arguing that opposition from professional associations reflects elitism more than public safety.
Why it matters: A clear statement of the case for the change, from a supporter. Read it alongside the CPA/OPA joint letter for the case against.
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