In Ontario, FP credential holders up nearly 10% over two years

In Ontario, the number of financial-planner credential holders increased over the past two years, based on the online registry of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). The regulator oversees the province’s multiple-credential title protection regime.

Title protection came into force in Ontario in March 2022. In March 2024, FSRA approved a sixth credential for use of the “financial planner” (FP) title in the province. Since then, the financial-planning credential holders in FSRA’s registry increased nearly 10%, to 18,848 (see table below).

Financial-planner credentials in Ontario by the numbers, March 2024 versus March 2026

Source: FSRA credentials tool on March 22, 2024, and March 24, 2026

The increase also comes near the end of the four-year transition period for use of the FP title, which concludes on March 28. The transition period applied to those using the FP title on or before Jan. 1, 2020. At the end of this week, anyone in the province using “financial planner” or a similar title must have one of the six regulator-approved credentials or stop using the title.

In an email, FP Canada said the FSRA registry “provides an important snapshot” of credential holders but that “short-term changes should be interpreted carefully.” They could reflect “how practitioners engage with the title protection framework,” for example, or “routine renewal decisions,” the credentialing body said.

While all credentials approved by FSRA meet minimum education standards established under the title protection framework, arbitrage concerns arose recently when one credentialing body offered its credential on an equivalency basis to holders of other credentials. The framework has no standardized proficiency testing, and stakeholders have been calling for associated improvements to the regime.

The equivalency offer was short-lived. Longer term, numbers in FSRA’s registry could reflect developments and trends to monitor.

Michelle Schriver

Michelle is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and sister publication Investment Executive. She has worked with the team since 2015 and been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and SABEW for her reporting. Email her at michelle@newcom.ca.