About OPA

Our members are also members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) and together our mandate is to amplify the voice of the profession and drive meaningful change.

Our collective strength gives advocacy efforts more impact, and ensures policymakers and stakeholders understand the value physiotherapy professionals bring to communities.

OPA and CPA serve our members by focussing on advocacy, government and stakeholder relations, programs and professional development and practice support at both the provincial and national level.   

We improve the health care system by continuously advocating for increased access to physiotherapy and showing the impact that physiotherapists can make on the health of Ontarians.

By providing support and resources to our members we make it more possible for them to provide quality physiotherapy to every patient they treat.

By increasing the physiotherapy workforce to match the OECD per capita average, we can further reduce the burden of diseases such as osteoarthritis, back pain, and coronary heart disease by an additional $144 million per year.

Ontario was one of the first provinces in Canada to regulate the profession of physiotherapy, doing so in 1924 under the Drugless Practitioner’s Act. With the proclamation of the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) and the Physiotherapy Act on December 31, 1993, physiotherapists were officially recognized as one of Ontario’s self-governing health care professions.

Incorporated in 1964, OPA became the first provincial branch of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. From the beginning, OPA has been a strong voice for the profession, reflecting the commitment of physiotherapists to work together through a united professional association. Over time, membership has grown to include the full spectrum of physiotherapy service providers, including students and physiotherapist assistants.