How Does CME Work? Family Doctors (Canada)

Members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) owe 250 continuing medical education (CME) credits over each five-year cycle, with at least 25 every year. The CFPC runs this through Mainpro+, its continuing professional development (CPD) program. For a family doctor, CPD and CME mean the same thing. Your provincial college checks that you took part.

The five-year cycle

The CFPC places you in a five-year reporting cycle when you enrol; cycles and annual reporting years run July 1 to June 30. The CFPC's pages say only that the cycle starts when you enrol. Check your Mainpro+ account for the end date.

Each year within that cycle, the CFPC requires at least 25 credits of any type. The annual minimum is not deferred; credits cannot be banked and reported in one batch at the end. A qualifying absence of six months or more, such as parental leave, personal illness or caring for an ill family member, may make you eligible for a one-year cycle extension. Ask the CFPC.

Three categories, four numbers

Certified credits come from activities the CFPC has formally reviewed and approved: conferences, accredited clinical rounds, certified online modules and formal university courses, among others. Royal College Section 1 counts too. So does Quebec Category A.

Certified Assessment credits require data and feedback that lead to practice or performance improvement. Chart audits are the standard example. The Professional Learning Plan (PLP) also earns them. It pays up to 20 per cycle.

Non-certified credits cover everything else that meets the CFPC's definition of CPD and is non-promotional. Journal reading counts. So do non-certified conferences, coaching or mentoring, research writing and committee participation.

Since December 2024, the standard rate across all categories is one credit per hour. Legacy multi-credit-per-hour activities expired no later than December 31, 2025.

For Practising members, each five-year cycle requires:

Requirement	Detail
Governing body	College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)
Program name	Mainpro+
Cycle length	5 years (July 1 to June 30)
Total credits per cycle	250
Certified or Certified Assessment	at least 125
Certified Assessment within that 125	at least 10
Annual minimum	at least 25, any type
Cycle deadline	June 30
Tracking platform	CFPC Mainpro+ portal
Quebec equivalent	Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ)

Non-certified credits have no cap. Up to 40 certified credits carry into your next cycle. Keep certificates for at least six years in case of a random audit.

Tracking and reporting

You log all credits through the CFPC's Mainpro+ portal. Program organizers can enter credits on your behalf. That can take a few weeks. Follow up if nothing shows after four weeks.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits earned in the United States count as certified Mainpro+ credit. The cap is 50 per five-year cycle. Anything above the cap counts as non-certified.

Your cycle deadline is June 30. After your cycle ends, you have six weeks to report any remaining credits earned during that cycle.

Falling short

Miss the six-week grace period and the CFPC assigns a two-year remedial cycle: 100 credits, at least 50 Certified or Certified Assessment, at least four of them Certified Assessment. The CFPC requires certificate upload for each Certified or Certified Assessment activity claimed during the remedial cycle. It suspends its special designations, CCFP, FCFP, MCFP and CACs, until the remedial cycle ends. It also notifies the relevant licensing body. Outright failure to complete Mainpro+ requirements can lead to discontinuation of CFPC membership under CFPC bylaw 9.1.1.

Your college and Mainpro+

Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta all accept Mainpro+, but each college reads it differently. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario requires physicians to participate in a CPD program meeting Royal College or CFPC standards. Mainpro+ is one of three approved tracking organizations. The others are the Royal College MOC Program and the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC ties CPD compliance to annual licence renewal. Physicians must enrol in and comply with an approved CPD program, of which Mainpro+ is one, to renew each year. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) monitors enrolment and credit compliance, but you report to Mainpro+ and must produce your record if CPSA asks. CPSA's page still mentions non-member participation, a category the CFPC closed on 1 January 2023, so confirm before relying on it. Elsewhere, your own college's page is the authority.

Quebec runs a separate track. The Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) requires 250 hours per five-year period: at least 125 hours of recognized professional development, at least 10 of recognized practice evaluation, and at least 25 hours per year. The current period runs 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028. A separate declaration is due to the CMQ by 31 March each year.

Mainpro+ certified activities count toward CMQ requirements. The CFPC transfers them. Non-certified Mainpro+ credits generally become non-recognized CMQ hours, and carry-over is not allowed. Check both profiles. The CMQ regulation changes on 1 January 2027; check the CMQ site before that date.

Where MD Progress fits

Time spent on MD Progress is self-directed learning that the CFPC has not formally reviewed. That places it in Mainpro+'s non-certified activity category, the same type as journal reading. You can self-report this time as non-certified credits at one credit per hour, the CFPC's standard rate since December 2024.

The rule to work to

Treat 25 credits a year as the floor and 125 certified over five years, at least 10 from assessment work, as the target. June 30 is your deadline. The six weeks after are your only buffer. Your college decides the rest.