Continuing education providers

CFP^® professionals and QAFP^® professionals have an obligation to ensure their knowledge and competence in their field remains current.

To renew certification, CFP professionals must complete 25 hours of Continuing Education (CE) annually and QAFP professionals must complete 12 hours of CE activities annually. By becoming a provider of FP Canada-approved CE activities, your programs will be promoted to approximately 18,000 financial planners certified by FP Canada™ who collectively must complete more than 400,000 CE credits each year.

FP Canada-accredited CE activities

FP Canada-accredited CE activities have been reviewed to ensure they meet FP Canada’s CE requirements. They are the CE activities of choice for CFP professionals and QAFP professionals, providing assurance that they will count toward their annual requirement to maintain certification. Providers of FP Canada-accredited CE activities receive many benefits including:

• inclusion in the FP Canada Continuing Education Search Tool, which is the primary tool used by CFP professionals and QAFP professionals to find CE activities
• promotion of CE activities by FP Canada to approximately 18,000 professional financial planners through a variety of promotional materials, e-newsletters and other communications
• use of the FP Canada-accredited CE logo to advertise CE activities as meeting FP Canada’s requirements

FP Canada approved by MFDA as third party accreditor for CE

FP Canada has been approved by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) as a Third Party Accreditor for Continuing Education (CE). As a Third Party Accreditor, FP Canada is recognized by the MFDA to perform assessments of CE activity against standards established by the MFDA. This important recognition from the MFDA recognizes the merits of the longstanding FP Canada CE Approval Program.

New CE requirements for all MFDA Approved Persons came into effect on December 1, 2021. Each CE activity must be accredited by Accreditors recognized by the MFDA in order to count towards the fulfilment of the new CE requirements.

FP Canada completed a rigorous application process to earn approval as a Third Party Accreditor. To be approved by the MFDA, Third Party Accreditors must prove that they have at least five years’ experience in acting as a non-profit professional body which administers established proficiency requirements for a certification or designation related to the securities industry, have a code of ethics, and have an enforcement regime which includes a formal, transparent disciplinary process. Applicants must also provide a detailed outline of their CE accreditation policies and procedures, and demonstrate how those processes align with the MFDA’s accreditation requirements.

What this means for you

Given that more than 40% of FP Canada financial planners certified by FP Canada are also MFDA licensed, the opportunity to have programs accredited both for FP Canada CE requirements and MFDA CE requirements is beneficial for both CE providers and professional financial planners.

Organizations that submit courses as part of the FP Canada CE Approval Program have the opportunity to have those courses reviewed for accreditation by the MFDA. Providers must then register the program separately with the MFDA, and a fee will be required by the MFDA.

Submit your CE activities to the FP Canada CE accreditation program

Create an FP Canada account to submit your CE activities to the FP Canada CE Approval Program for assessment. Through the FP Canada Portal, you can:

• easily and conveniently submit CE activities through our online application;
• track the status of your CE activities;
• modify CE activity details;
• view your payment history; and
• edit your organization’s information.