New Council Election By-laws

Posted On: January 8, 2026

After careful consideration of feedback from the recent consultation, the Council of the College has approved changes to the by-laws relating to how professional members are elected to the Council.

Consultation Feedback

At the close of consultation, the College heard from 30 registrants, members of the public and organizations. Concerns were raised about the loss of regional representation, representation of smaller communities, the maintenance of democratic processes, the role of the Governance Committee and self-governance/self-regulation.

Although the existing model was not broken, it did not allow the Council to identify what skills, expertise and diversity it was lacking among its members and then seek out individuals to meet the missing requirements. The new model is intended to address this challenge.

The Council has established a Skills, Expertise, and Diversity policy, which sets out the skills, areas of expertise, and diverse nature of Council members that will make it more effective as a governing body by having broader representation and emphasizing diversity. This in turn ensures that the Council is equipped to properly and effectively perform its role in the public interest. We invite everyone to review this policy.

The policy establishes the characteristics that the Council as an entity should exhibit, recognizing that no one person can present all these characteristics. It also establishes priorities among these characteristics. Each year, an assessment will be taken of the Council members to identify the skills, expertise, and diversity that they represent. This assessment will then be used to identify the skills, expertise, and diversity that are lacking and should be sought through the election process.

Among the criteria in this policy are regional representation, age, gender, experience in practise and many others. Individuals who meet the criteria needed on the Council will be sought out and put forward for election by registrants.

The election process, described below, continues the democratic tradition of registrants electing the Council from among their peers. The Council will still be made up of professional members and public appointees, ensuring the continuation of self-governance. Self-governance will also continue to be maintained through the full participation of the profession in the regulatory committees operated by the College.

Finally, while the role of the Governance Committee has been expanded, it has always played a significant and important role in the election process. It has been and will continue to evaluate potential candidates for election and committee appointments against the competencies established by the Council. Going forward, it will also ensure the needs assessment of the Council is undertaken and that those applicants seeking to be a candidate in the election will provide the Council with the skills, expertise, and diversity it requires to perform optimally. While there are always risks of bias in these processes, these are countered through on-going training conducted by the College, the participation of public members/representatives and registrants of the College on the Governance Committee and established checks and balances.

The Election Process

Four months prior to the election, the Governance Committee will review the Council Profile (as noted above) to determine where there are gaps in the desired skills, expertise, and diversity of the Council in accordance with the Council’s policy. In doing so, the Committee will establish the desired skills for applicants seeking to be elected.

Three months before the election, the CEO will notify all registrants of the date, time, and place of the election and the application procedure to be a candidate, including the deadline for applications as well as the desired skills, expertise, and diversity requirements established by the Committee.

At the close of the application process, all complete applications will be given to a panel of the Governance Committee for review against the following criteria:

The eligibility requirements set out in article 10.05 of the by-laws,
The competencies set out by the Council in its Qualifying Program Policy,
The skills, expertise, and diversity requirements established in accordance with the Council policy of the same name.

After the panel completes its review, but no later than 40 days before the election, the CEO will inform applicants of the outcome of the review and whether they have been approved as candidates in the election. Those who are not approved by the panel are given the opportunity to appeal to the full Governance Committee for a review.

At the end of the review by the Governance Committee, the final slate of candidates will be established, and the CEO will inform all registrants of the candidates in the election. This will include providing a personal statement and biography of each candidate to allow registrants to make an informed choice.

Fifteen (15) days before the election date, all registrants will be invited to begin casting their ballot electronically. Each registrant will be given one ballot in which they can select the number of candidates equal to the number of vacancies. For example, in 2026, there are two positions open for election so each registrant can select two individuals from the list of candidates.

At the close of balloting, the candidates will be informed of the election outcome, and, after the conclusion of the recount opportunity, registrants will also be informed of the outcome.

What to watch for

January 12, 2026	The Call for Applications for Candidates for election will be released setting out the skills, expertise, and diversity being sought through this election.
February 12, 2026	The deadline by which applications must be received by the College.
March 23, 2026	The list of candidates standing for election will be released and balloting will be open.

Resources Available to Registrants

The College is making the following resources available to registrants of the College. First, the Election Handbook is now available on the College’s website providing detailed information about the election process and requirements.

An Orientation Session for individuals interested in applying to be elected to the Council is also being held. This session will provide details about the election requirements, the processes and how to apply. It will also provide information about the role of Council, the time commitment for Council members and the training that will be available.

To ensure equal access to the Orientation Session, two sessions will be available. The first will be held on January 28, 2026, at 1:00 pm EST and the second on February 5, 2026, at 10:30 am EST. These two sessions will cover the same information so interested persons need only attend one. Registration is now open.

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