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Continuous Professional Learning

The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) has mandated a compulsory Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) program for all practicing Full and Candidate members. This membership requirement has been in effect since 2014 and responds to the profession’s commitment to maintaining competency on a continuous basis, as well as the public’s growing need for assurance that many professionals—planners included—remain current with contemporary theory, methods, and practice within their profession. OPPI’s CPL program fits the unique needs of planning professionals in Ontario, while retaining consistency with the national CPL standard, as established by the Standards Committee for the Planning Profession in Canada.

Please note CPL is a requirement for Candidate and Full Members only.

OPPI Planner Competency TreeThe Core Competencies, within the two realms of Functioning and Enabling Competencies, are the focus of all CPL courses and resources, a direct reflection of the knowledge, skills and attitude required of RPPs to affect community change in the public interest during their careers.

CPL requires the completion of 18 Learning Units annually:

  • One Learning Unit equals one hour of direct planning-related learning (with some exceptions)
  • A minimum of 9 Learning Units must be structured
  • A maximum of 9 Learning Units may be self-directed
  • Up to 9 structured Learning Units may be carried forward to the following year subject to the completion of the minimum nine Learning Units

For more information on the CPL Program, please consult the CPL Program Guide, which describes the structure, requirements, and reporting procedures of OPPI’s CPL program and is intended to be used as a resource by Full and Candidate members to better understand their responsibilities in meeting the program’s requirements.

If you have a question that you feel is not answered in the CPL Program Guide, please be sure to check the CPL FAQ's. Any other questions on the CPL program may be directed to the OPPI Registrar