Call for papers for a Special Issue on :  

Foreign Qualification Recognition at Twenty:

Legislative Evolution, Regulatory Change, and Pathways Forward

Manuscript submission deadline: 15 July 2026
Anticipated publication: 2027

Canada is nearing the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of provincial fair access legislation. This milestone offers an important opportunity to reflect on how foreign qualification recognition (FQR) has changed and how well current systems support internationally educated professionals, regulators, employers, and the public. Since Ontario introduced its Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act in 2006, followed by related reforms across other provinces and territories, Canadian jurisdictions have experimented with new approaches to oversight, transparency, and equitable access. These efforts continue to evolve, and recent legislative changes in several provinces have further reshaped the regulatory environment.

This special issue invites researchers to assess two decades of policy development and institutional innovation in FQR. We encourage contributions that examine the achievements of regulatory interventions, as well as persistent challenges, and future directions for strengthening fairness, efficiency, and equity in FQR systems. We welcome submissions from economics, industrial relations, public policy, sociology, law, political science, education, health policy, and related fields. In addition to submissions from academics, we also welcome research contributions from non-academic community organizations. Comparative work involving other countries is encouraged if it offers clear relevance for Canada.

The Ontario Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC) may have administrative data that could be of interest to prospective authors. For information about OFC data availability, please contact Samar Naqvi at Samar.Naqvi@ontario.ca

Themes

The following highlight areas of interest, but submissions are not limited. We welcome manuscripts that offer novel perspectives on any aspect of FQR.

1. Evolution of Fair Access Legislation Across Canada

Research that traces and analyzes how provincial and territorial fair access frameworks have developed over time and the impacts/correlates of those changes with outcomes. Submissions may examine similarity/difference across jurisdictions and highlight what lessons can be drawn from these diverse approaches. Analyses of oversight models, appeals processes, and fairness auditing practices are especially welcome.

2. Regulating in the Public Interest

Studies that explore how the meaning of the public interest has changed. Work that examines the growing emphasis on equitable access to care, labour mobility, workforce sufficiency, and the continued importance of public health and safety. We welcome research that considers how these expanded expectations influence the work of regulators and policy actors.

3. Impacts of Ministerial Directives and Legislative Reform

Empirical analyses of recent policy interventions such as ministerial directives to health regulators, the prohibition of Canadian experience requirements, the acceptance of test results used for immigration purposes, or new requirements regarding processing timelines. We are interested in research that documents how these changes affect applicant outcomes, regulatory practices, or timelines for registration.

4. Trends in Registration, Employment Match, and Labour Market Conditions

Papers that track patterns in licensing, supervised practice, provisional registration, and employment match. We invite work that connects these trends to immigration policy changes, labour market shortages, and broader economic conditions. Research that disentangles the effects of regulation, labour markets, and immigration selection will be of particular interest.

5. The Foreign Qualification Recognition Ecosystem

Analyses that describe and evaluate the broader ecosystem of actors involved in FQR. This includes regulators, fairness offices, credential assessment bodies, settlement agencies, employers, postsecondary institutions, and governments. Submissions may identify where coordination is strong or weak and propose ways to build a more coherent and aligned system.

6. Equity, Differential Impacts, and Systemic Barriers

Studies that examine how gender, race, region of training, migration pathways, and other forms of inequality shape the experiences of internationally educated professionals. We welcome research that draws attention to systemic barriers and offers insights into how regulation can become more equitable.

Submission Process

• Please read our guideline before you send your manuscript on our platform.
  When you submit, in the area Select special project/issue, please select Foreign Qualification Recognition at Twenty: Legislative Evolution, Regulatory Change, and Pathways Forward

• Deadline: 15 July 2026

• Formatting: Manuscripts should follow Canadian Public Policy’s submission guidelines.

• Peer review: Submissions will be reviewed through the journal’s regular process.

• Open access: Accepted articles will be published open access.

• Editorial team:

  • Marshia Akbar, Toronto Metropolitan University (marshia.akbar@torontomu.ca)

  • Rupa Banerjee, Toronto Metropolitan University (banerjee@torontomu.ca)

  • Arthur Sweetman, McMaster University (arthur.sweetman@mcmaster.ca)

For any technical issue when you submit, please contact Olivier at olivier@cpp-adp.ca

Along with the Canadian Economics Association, the journal co-sponsors the Mike McCracken Award for Economic Statistics to recognize theoretical and applied contributions to the development or use of economic statistics in Canada. The prize is in part supported by a generous contribution in 2017 by the McCracken family. 

Aims and Scope

Since 1975, Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques has been the foremost peer-reviewed journal examining economic and social public policy issues in Canada. It is directed at a wide readership including policy researchers, decision makers and advisers in governments, businesses, unions, non-government organizations and universities. CPP  is available in print and online.

From the beginning the journal was intended to be multidisciplinary.  It was founded as a separate charitable organization by the Canadian Economics Association with other sponsoring organizations the Canadian Political Science Association, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, the Canadian Association of Geographers, the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, and the Canadian Association for Business Economics.