CPA Canada CPD Requirements: Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba

CPA Canada members must keep up their continuing professional development (CPD), and the rules are set province by province. The three provincial bodies we checked, CPA Ontario, CPA Alberta and CPA Manitoba, share a common pattern: 20 hours a year including 10 verifiable hours, and 120 hours over a rolling three-year period including 60 verifiable and four verifiable ethics hours. The reporting dates and the consequences of missing them differ. This guide sets out the figures from each body's own website. If you are weighing up the qualification itself, see our explainers on the CPA Canada PEP and CFE and on ACCA vs CPA Canada.

CPA Canada CPD at a glance

CPA Ontario

CPA Ontario asks for at least 20 CPD hours in the reporting year, including 10 verifiable hours, and at least 120 hours in every rolling three-year period, of which 60 must be verifiable and four of the verifiable hours must be in professional ethics. The reporting year is the previous calendar year. The CPD declaration is submitted with annual membership dues between April 1 and June 1, with a $25 late fee for submissions after June 1. You should keep records for at least five years, because CPD is subject to audit. If you do not meet the requirements, you must submit a Plan of Action within 14 days, which gives you 120 additional days to complete the missing hours. Outstanding declarations after June 30 can lead to suspension, and non-compliance may affect eligibility to renew a Public Accounting Licence.

CPA Alberta

CPA Alberta uses the same numbers: 20 hours of new CPD learning a year, of which 10 must be verifiable, and 120 hours over a rolling three-year cycle, of which 60 must be verifiable, including four hours of verifiable professional ethics. Its cycle is the current reporting year and the last two years in which you did not receive an exemption. An exempt year is excluded from the rolling total, and CPD taken in an exempt year can count toward the three-year total but not toward the following year's annual total. We did not find a general reporting deadline on the Alberta page we reviewed, so check the current date in the member portal.

CPA Manitoba

The CPA Manitoba CPD Requirements Policy, updated March 23, 2026, requires 120 CPD hours over a three-year rolling period, of which at least 60 must be verifiable, including at least four hours of verifiable professional ethics. Members must report at least 20 hours a year, including at least 10 verifiable. Reporting for a calendar year is due April 1 of the following year, which is earlier than in Ontario, so do not assume the deadline is the same in every province.

What counts as verifiable

CPA Ontario describes verifiable CPD as activity for which you hold acceptable documentation, and says at least 50 percent of your hours must be verifiable. In practice that means a certificate of completion or attendance record that shows the provider, date, hours and topic. The remaining hours can be non-verifiable, but you should still record them. Our guide to what counts as CPD for accountants explains the same distinction for other professional bodies.

Other provinces

We checked only the three provinces above. Other provincial CPA bodies publish their own policies, and the numbers or deadlines may differ. Always check your own body's current policy before you plan a year of learning.

A planning example

A simple plan that meets all three provinces' headline numbers is 40 hours a year, at least 20 of them verifiable, with the four ethics hours spread so you do not leave them to the last year. That gives you 120 hours across three years, 60 or more verifiable and your ethics hours complete, with a buffer if one year turns out lighter.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPD hours do Canadian CPAs need?

In the three provinces we checked, 20 hours a year (10 verifiable) and 120 over a rolling three years (60 verifiable, including 4 ethics hours).

When is the CPA Ontario CPD deadline?

The declaration is due between April 1 and June 1, with a $25 late fee after June 1.

What if I fall short in Ontario?

You submit a Plan of Action within 14 days, which allows 120 additional days to complete the missing hours.

How is CPE related?

CPE is the US term for the same idea. See CPE versus CPD.

Finding CPD with Learnsignal

Learnsignal publishes accounting, tax, audit and ethics learning in its CPD and CPE library. Check with your provincial body that a course will qualify and keep the certificate.

Source: CPA Ontario, CPA Alberta and CPA Manitoba CPD pages and policies (cpaontario.ca, cpaalberta.ca, cpamb.ca), checked October 2026.