Quick Reference Guide 3: Canadian RN Reciprocity to Québec RN Practice

Bonjour tout le monde! Ça va bien? In case you don’t know, Canada has 2 official languages: English and French—l’anglais et le français. French is predominantly spoken in the province of Québec. 80% of its population are Francophones (French-speaking) and 95% speak French as a first or second language. It is also spoken in some parts of Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador and Acadia (l’Acadie): Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province. Canada is proud of her French patrimony as she is to her aboriginial and British as we celebrate and value diversity.

Can a Canadian RN practice in Québec? Oui mesdames et messieurs! Reciprocity makes life easy in Canada as it is in the States. The Agreement on Internal Trade of 2009 stipulates that an RN who holds legal authorization to practise nursing in a Canadian province or territory is not ony entitled to a permit issued by the Ordre des Infirmieres et Infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ, Québec Order of Nurses) but also to other Canadian Colleges/Associations of RNs vice versa, provided that the RN can prove that he/she holds this authorization and can meet other regulatory terms and conditions.

For aspiring Canadian RNs or Canadian RNs who are also French language/French-Canadian Culture enthusiasts, here are the steps to get licensed in la belle province, Québec:

Pre-requisites:

• You MUST be a Canadian RN (outside Québec) with an unrestricted license to practice as RN in Canada
• Canadian RNs must HAVE at least 500 RN hours within the last 4 years after initial Canadian licensure

(1) Tout d'abord, complete the following mandatory online modules in French/English:

• Plan therapeutique infirmiers / Therapeutic Nursing Plan 

• Guide d’auto-apprentissage sur les aspects déontologiques, juridiques et éthiques de la pratique infirmière au Québec /Self-Study Guide to the Code of Ethics and Other Legal and Ethical Considerations for Quebec Nurses (Québec RN Jurisprudence)

(2) Complete an Application Kit

(3) Obtain a regular permit

The Office Québécois de La Langue Français (OQLF) requires that every professional must have an appropriate knowledge of French sufficient to practise his or her profession in French. You are deemed to have sufficient knowledge of French* if you have:

• Received, full time, no less than three years of secondary or post-secondary instruction provided in French
• Passed the fourth or fifth-year secondary level examinations in French as the first language (recommended); in or after the 1985-86 school year, obtained a secondary school certificate in Quebec
• Passed the French examination administered by the Office Québecois de La Langue Français (for details, read page 5 of the Guide to Obtaining an OIIQ Permit for RNs from other Canadian Provinces)

*Pursuant to Article 702 (2) (b) of the Agreement on Internal Trade of 2009, a worker applying for cerification in Québec may have to demonstrate proficiency in French to be certified 

*Charter of the French Language

(4) Apply for Registration

Guide to Obtaining an OIIQ Permit for RNs from other Canadian Provinces.

Nous avons de la place pour un seul drapeau, le drapeau canadien. Il n’y a de place que pour deux langues ici: l’anglais et le français. Et nous avons de la place pour la loyauté, mais une seule, et c’est une loyauté envers le peuple Canadien.

We have space for one flag only, the Canadian flag. There is space for but two languages here, English and French. And we have space for loyalty, but only of one kind, and that is loyalty to the Canadian people.

—Prime Ministre Wilfrid Laurier, the first Francophone Prime Ministre of Canada

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