Which Paramedic Programs in Ontario Are the Best?
A lot of people interested in pursuing a career as a paramedic are flocking towards Canada, because paramedics in Canada are able to make more money on average as opposed to those working in the United States and other countries. And in this article, we will examine just what paramedic programs in Ontario are available for those interested in medic training, as well as what the requirements are demanded for those that seek certification, and even what the average salary is for a paramedic in Ontario.
Paramedic Programs in Ontario
Before we get to a list of schools in Ontario you can apply to, let’s briefly go over how becoming a paramedic in Canada actually works.
First, there are essentially four levels of competency one can achieve while working in Canada, as described by the National Occupational Competency Profile for Paramedics (also known as NOCP):
- Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)
- Primary Care Paramedic (PCP): This is the entry level of practitioner.
- Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP): This is the next level of practitioner throughout the country, but not all provinces and jurisdictions utilize ACP’s, including New Brunswick and Quebec.
- Critical Care Paramedic (CCP): The most advanced level of practitioner. The CCP can do everything a PCP and ACP can do, along with skills such as medical infusion pumps and arterial line monitoring.
We are going to focus primarily on schools that offer training programs for Primacy Care, Advanced Care, and Critical Care Paramedics, because these are the three levels of actual certification in Ontario.
In fact, Critical Care Paramedics who work for ORNGE Transport, for example, may find themselves serving patients and their community via air or land transportation. ORNGE (formerly Ontario Air Ambulance Services Co) has a Critical Care Paramedic Program specifically for ACP’s interested in broadening their scope of practice and advancing their life support knowledge and skills.
Now, let’s get into the specific programs in Ontario available for each level of practitioner, a list that can also be found on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) website.
- Primary Care Paramedic Programs
Algonquin College
1385 Woodroffe Avenue
Ottawa, ON K2G 1V8
BizTech College of Health Sciences, Business and Technology
5170 Dixie Road, Suite 205
Mississauga ON L4W 1E3
Cambrian College
1400 Barrydowne Road
Sudbury, ON P3A 3V8
Centennial College
P.O. Box 631, Station A
Toronto, ON, M1K 5E9
Collège Boréal
21, boulevard Lasalle
Sudbury, ON P3A 6B1
Conestoga College
Doon Campus
299 Doon Valley Drive
Kitchener, ON N2G 4M4
Confederation College
P.O. Box 398
Thunder Bay, ON P7C 4W1
CTS Canadian Career College
Barrie Campus
546 Bryne Drive
Barrie, ON L4N 9P6
Durham College
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1H 7K4
Fanshawe College
1001 Fanshawe College Boulevard
London, ON N5W 5H1
Fleming College
599 Brealey Drive, Room 436C
Peterborough, ON K9J 7B1
Georgian College
1 Georgian Drive
Barrie, ON L4M 3X9
Humber College
North Campus
205 Humber College Boulevard
Etobicoke, ON M9W 5L7
La Cité Collégiale
801, promenade de l’Aviation
Ottawa, ON K1K 4R3
Lambton College
1457 London Road
Sarnia, ON N7S 6K4
Loyalist College
Bancroft Campus
P.O. Box 10
Bancroft, ON K0L 1C0
Niagara College
300 Woodlawn Road
Welland, ON L3B 7C3
Northern College
Timmins Campus
P.O. Box 3211
Timmins, ON P4N 8R6
Ontario College of Health and Technology
1040 South Service Road
Stoney Creek, ON L8E 6G3
St. Clair College
1001 Grand Avenue West
Chatham, ON N7M 5W4
St. Lawrence College
2 Belmont Street
Cornwall, ON K6H 4Z1
Trillium College
Burlington Campus
760 Brant Street, Unit #5
Burlington, ON L7R 4B7
- Advanced Care Paramedic Programs
Algonquin College
1385 Woodroffe Avenue
Ottawa, ON K2G 1V8
Cambrian College
1400 Barrydowne Road
Sudbury, ON P3A 3V8
Conestoga College
Doon Campus
299 Doon Valley Drive
Kitchener, ON N2G 4M4
Durham College
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1H 7K4
Fanshawe College
1001 Fanshawe College Boulevard
London, ON N5W 5H1
Georgian College
1 Georgian Drive
Barrie, ON L4M 3X9
Humber College
North Campus
205 Humber College Boulevard
Etobicoke, ON M9W 5L7
La Cité Collégiale
801, promenade de l’Aviation
Ottawa, ON K1K 4R3
Niagara College
300 Woodlawn Road
Welland, ON L3B 7C3
Ornge
5310 Explorer Drive
Mississauga ON L4W 5H8
St. Clair College
2000 Talbot Road West
Windsor, ON N9A 6S4
Toronto Emergency Medical Services
Education and Development
4330 Dufferin Street
Toronto, ON M3H 5R9
- Critical Care Paramedic Programs
There are no schools or organizations that train and certify CCP’s outside of Ornge. Ornge also trains and certifies Primary, Advanced and Critical Care Flight Paramedics.
How to Become a Paramedic After School Ends?
Once you enroll in and eventually graduate from paramedic school, you will still inevitably find yourself asking: Now what?
Now that you’ve acquired all the important training and skills from an approved school, how do you actually go about becoming a paramedic in Ontario?
Well, it’s important to know that all paramedics in Ontario are required to hold Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) Advanced Emergency Medical Care Assistant (AEMCA) certification.
Candidates who successfully completed a program from the ones listed above, according to the MOHLTC, or have successfully completed what is known as the Ontario Equivalency Process will then be eligible to write provincial MOHLTC AEMCA Theory Examination and ultimately move towards successfully obtaining AEMCA certification.
The AEMCA Theory Examination is available in both English and French. The registration fee is $250.00, and you will be required to show proof that you have completed an approved paramedic program.
Eligibility for the exam is limited to just four attempts. With that said, should you fail three times, you must renew your eligibility by completing a remedial program through an approved paramedic program.
For more information, please review the AEMCA Information and Application Form.
Also, please remember that the aforementioned note about certification is not a recommendation–it’s a requirement. Therefore, in order to become employed as a paramedic in Ontario, you must either hold AEMCA certification, or have received adequate training and education elsewhere that the Director, Emergency Health Services Branch deems equivalent
Paramedic Salary Ontario Payscale
The truth is that determining the paramedic salary in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada is not an exact science. Still, we can provide you with numbers to give you an idea of just how much paramedics do make.
Paramedics in Ontario do make more on average than those working in other areas of the country, and certainly even those working in the United States. If you are a Primary Care Paramedic, for example, you can expect to earn anywhere from $70,000 to $90,000 per year.
Advanced Care Paramedics can potentially see their average salary numbers increase to six digits ($90,000 to $100,000), while Critical Care Paramedics can make anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 per year.
It should be noted that location, experience, and education all dictate how much money a paramedic is eligible to earn each year.
For more information on paramedic programs in Ontario, please be sure to revisit Paramedic Training Spot!
