This article was adapted from "Canada National Tour," prepared by Janel Gauthier and Pierre Ritchie, in Wedding, D., & Stevens, M. J. (Eds.). (2009). Psychology: IUPsyS Global Resource (Edition 2009) [CD-ROM]. International Journal of Psychology, 44(Suppl. 1).Reprinted from Wedding, D., & Stevens, M. J. (Eds.). (2009). Psychology: IUPsyS Global Resource (Edition 2009) [CD-ROM]. International Journal of Psychology, 44(Suppl. 1).

History

For most of its first half-century, the Canadian Psychological Association predominately served the academic/scientific community. With the emergence of psychology as a human-service profession, the foci and work of the Association have become more diverse and now include emphasis on professional as well as scientific issues. The organization of the Canadian Psychological Association/ Société Canadienne de Psychologie was restructured in 1989 and 1997 to enhance its ability to meet the aspirations expressed in its bylaws and to better reflect the diversity of its membership. The work of the Association is enhanced through cooperation with several major groupings of psychologists: the Canadian Council of Psychology Departments; the Council of Provincial Associations of Psychologists; the Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology; and the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science.

Research

Psychology is the only scientific discipline to be funded by all four federal research granting agencies: Medical Research Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, National Health Research Development Programme, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. There are active research programs in all of the major domains of psychology across the sixty university-based departments of psychology and in a large number of applied settings, both in the public sector (e.g., hospitals) and in the private sector (e.g., telecommunications).

Education

Thirty-five Canadian universities provide graduate-level training. The Canadian Psychological Association/Société Canadienne de Psychologie, through its Accreditation Panel, also accredits doctoral-level university-based programs and internships in professional psychology.

Regulation

Psychology is a legally established profession in all ten provinces and the North West Territories. In each province/territory, there is a statute that establishes the legal entity that regulates the practice of psychology in that jurisdiction http://www.cpa.ca/licensing.html. In all instances, psychologists are appointed/elected by the government or their peers to oversee the administration of the regulatory process.

In 1986, the Canadian Psychological Association/Société Canadienne de Psychologie completed its development of, and adopted, A Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. In 1991, the Association adopted the revised Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, 1991. As stated in its preamble, "This code articulates ethical principles, values, and standards to guide all members of the Canadian Psychological Association, whether scientists, practitioners, or scientist-practitioners, or whether acting in research, direct service, teaching, student, administrative, supervisory, consultative, peer review, editorial, expert witness, social policy, or any other role related to the discipline of psychology." 

Publications

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1947- , 4/year
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 1969- , 4/year
Canadian Psychology, 1950- , 4/year

Updated August 2008.