Membership Levels

The CSMTA has Four Membership Levels.

Student

Students enrolled in an accredited Canadian Massage Therapy Program qualify to apply for a CSMTA student membership.

Students applying for membership please send a letter of confirmation of enrolment detailing the length of program, expected graduation date and if a sport massage course is in the curriculum.

Within 30 days of becoming registered in their Province or Territory, Students must login and upgrade their membership level by re-registering as a Certification Candidate and paying the appropriate fee.

Certification Candidate (CC)

Massage Therapists eligible to work in Canada and are members in good standing and registered with the Province or Territory in which they live, are eligible to register as a Certification Candidate.

Certificate Candidates must hold a valid Standard First Aid certificate with CPR, take the CSMTA Advanced Sport Massage Course, and yearly provide proof of liability insurance and membership in good standing with their provincial body in order to maintain their membership in good standing.

For those members in unregulated Provinces, there are additional requirements.

To provide inclusion of massage therapists residing in provinces that are not governed by a provincial College of Massage Therapy (unregulated province) and who maintain their registration status with the highest standard of massage therapy available in that province, that is presently 2200 hours.

The current CSMTA bylaws state a CSMTA member must be a “member in good standing with the College of Massage Therapists in the province in which the individual practices, or in the case of a province or territory with no such regulatory body, a member in good standing with a professional massage therapy association as determined at the sole discretion of the Board”.

With new requirements that meet the national standard of the Massage Therapy Alliance of Canada (MTAC), massage therapists who are members of associations who are not required to attempt the Competency Equivalency Exam (CEE) and therefore are not eligible for membership in the Massage Therapy Alliance of Canada (MTAC).  Therefore, these members will be accepted for membership by the following requirements:

Procedure for unregulated provinces that have 2200hrs minimum education programs:

To accept only massage therapists from unregulated provinces with appropriate documentation who have graduated from a 2200-hour massage therapy program and are in good standing with their provincial associations.

•  Members who want to become certified have to complete the CSMTA Education Program, unless they can provided documentation of passing an MQE and a CSMTA hands-on sport massage course.

•  Current members will keep their membership status and will be classified as Certification Candidate Member.

•  Current and new members must fill out the appropriate application form and submit and fulfil all other obligations as outlined in the candidate handbook

•  The CSMTA Board will have the final decision on the approval of each membership application.

Procedure for unregulated provinces that have less than 2200hrs education programs:

To be accepted as a student member:

•  The member must be in the learning process of a basic program in Swedish massage and sport massage.

To be accepted as a certification candidate* (cc*):

•  The 3 Associations in Quebec the CSMTA will accept are FQM, R.M.P.Q. + and RITMA.  If a member of RITMA, with 1000hrs and submitted documentation has been approved, the only requirement is enrolment and completion of the CSMTA Education Program.

•  If a member from FQM or R.M.P.Q. +, with a 400hrs basic massage program and a 300 hour sport massage program submits documentation for approval by the National CSMTA Board they will meet certification candidate status and will be a member in good standing with the CSMTA. An additional education of 300 hours must be approved by the National CSMTA board before members can apply for National events.

•  Members can only be eligible to apply for National events (within Canada) i.e. Canada Games (provincial or national) outside of their own Province, when the 100o hrs. of education has been collected, the completion of the CSMTA Education Program and of the written certification exam.

•  All therapists that meet the above requirements will have an “*” by their name. They are still eligible to apply for International events and competitions but their lower education requirement will be communicated to National Selection Organizations.

•  Those therapists wishing to remove the “*” from their name must complete a Nationally recognized academic program that increases the member’s understanding of physiology, neurology and anatomical knowledge to the 2200hrs minimum national massage requirement.

•  The certification candidate who desires to write the theoretical exam must fulfil all other obligations as outlined in the candidate handbook.