How to Become an Optometrist in Canada

To become an optometrist in Canada, you earn a Doctor of Optometry (OD) from an accredited school, pass the licensing exam your province accepts, and register with your provincial regulator^[1][2]. Canada has two schools: Waterloo in English and Université de Montréal in French^[1]. Here is each step, and how long it takes.

The steps at a glance

1. Prepare. Take university science (three years for Waterloo) or a Quebec science DEC (for Montréal)^[3][4].
2. Apply. Waterloo needs the OAT, Casper, shadowing and references. Montréal uses your grades, a motivation questionnaire and an interview^[3][4].
3. Earn the OD. Four years at Waterloo or five at Montréal^[5][4].
4. Pass the licensing exam. In most provinces, that is the OEBC exam, with a written part and an OSCE^[1][6].
5. Register. Apply to the regulator in the province where you want to work^[7][8].

Step 1 and 2: get into optometry school

Only two schools in Canada grant the OD. Waterloo needs at least three years of university science, 15 prerequisite courses, the OAT and Casper, and admits 90 students a year^[3][5]. Montréal takes students straight from CEGEP, teaches in French and admits 56 a year^[4].

Compare both schools on our optometry schools in Canada guide, or read the full Waterloo and Montréal requirements. Preparing for the OAT? Try our free OAT practice tests.

Step 3: earn your Doctor of Optometry

• Waterloo: a four-year professional degree with lectures, labs and clinics. It is not a graduate degree^[5]. Starting with the class of 2030, there is an extra spring term between years 2 and 3^[3].
• Montréal: five years and 197 credits, with clinic work from year 2 and a three-month externship in year 5^[4].
• Both programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE)^[1][4].

Most students finish on time. At Waterloo, 93% to 98% of recent classes graduated in four years^[1].

Step 4: pass the licensing exam

The Optometry Examining Board of Canada (OEBC) runs the national entry-to-practice exam. Its members are the ten provincial optometry regulators, and its exams are bilingual^[2]. The exam has two parts: a written exam and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)^[1].

• Waterloo graduates can also write the US NBEO exam, which some provinces accept^[1].
• Ontario stopped accepting new NBEO results after March 7, 2025, unless you had already registered for a part by then. Otherwise you need the OEBC exam^[6].
• Waterloo’s first-time pass rate on the OEBC written exam was 94.9% in 2025-2026, against 90.2% for all candidates^[1].

Step 5: register in your province

Each province licenses its own optometrists.

• Ontario: apply to the College of Optometrists of Ontario, pass the entry-to-practice exam, complete the online jurisprudence seminar and exam within 12 months of applying, and get professional liability insurance^[7][9]. Most applicants are registered in less than a year^[7].
• Quebec: you must be a member of the Ordre des optométristes du Québec. A Montréal OD leads to a permit; you also need liability insurance and must meet the French-language requirements^[8][10].
• Other provinces: check with the provincial regulator; all ten are members of the OEBC^[2].

How long does it take to become an optometrist?

Plan on at least seven years after high school outside Quebec: three years of university, then four years of optometry^[3][5]. Some students finish a full degree before they apply, which adds a year or more^[3].

In Quebec, it is two years of CEGEP and then five years at Montréal, so also about seven years^[4]. The Ordre notes that becoming an optometrist in Quebec usually takes 18 years of schooling in total, from elementary school on^[8].

How to become an optometrist in Ontario

The usual path in Ontario: finish three years of university science with the Waterloo prerequisites and a 75%+ average, write the OAT and Casper, get into Waterloo’s OD, pass the OEBC written exam and OSCE, then register with the College of Optometrists of Ontario and pass its jurisprudence exam^[3][6][9].

If you trained outside Canada

• Optometrists trained outside North America can apply to Waterloo’s Advanced Standing Optometry Preparatory Program, which leads into year 3 of the OD^[11].
• In Ontario, international optometry graduates must finish a pre-registration process before they apply^[7].
• In Quebec, an OD from an ACOE-accredited school can be recognized as equivalent if you pass a summary exam^[8].

What it costs

At Waterloo, tuition is $18,800 a year for Ontario residents in years 1 to 3 and $26,700 in year 4, plus books, supplies and equipment^[12]. At Montréal, tuition is about $2,254 per 15-credit term for Quebec residents, plus about $9,000 for instruments and up to $9,000 for the year-5 externship^[4].

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science: graduation and exam success rates
2. Optometry Examining Board of Canada (OEBC)
3. University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science: application requirements
4. Université de Montréal: Doctorat de 1er cycle en optométrie (O.D.)
5. University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science: frequently asked questions
6. College of Optometrists of Ontario: entry-to-practice exam
7. College of Optometrists of Ontario: general certificate of registration
8. Ordre des optométristes du Québec: main conditions for a permit
9. College of Optometrists of Ontario: jurisprudence seminar and exam
10. Ordre des optométristes du Québec: Université de Montréal graduates
11. University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science: Advanced Standing Optometry Preparatory Program
12. University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science: financial considerations

Figures were checked against these sources on November 4, 2026. Optometry schools change their rules every cycle, so confirm on the official site before you apply.