Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA)
The 1995 Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) makes it easier for people, goods and services to move across Canada. The Labour Mobility Chapter (Chapter 7) of the AIT specifies that any worker qualified for an occupation in one province or territory must be granted access to employment opportunities in that occupation in any other province or territory. This is particularly significant for the regulated professions (like medicine or engineering) and trades (such as machinists or millwrights).
Regulated occupations are governed either directly by governments or by self-regulating, non-governmental bodies to which this authority has been delegated. In both case, it must be ensured that workers who are licensed, certified or registered in one part of the country will have their qualifications reviewed and recognized in any other province or territory where the occupation is regulated. In most instances, this will be achieved through the negotiation of mutual recognition agreements (MRA).
International mutual recognition agreements exist as well; they govern professional recognition between two or more countries.
Below you will find links to such agreements. This list is not exhaustive. If you are a professional regulatory body, please feel free to notify us of other online references to mutual recognition agreements.
Mutual Recognition Agreements within Canada
International Mutual Recognition Agreements
- Agreement between France and Quebec on the Mutual Recognition of Occupational Qualifications [in French]
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