PEO’s EIT Program in 2026: Closed to New Applicants — What EIT 2.0 Means

What Ontario graduates do instead

1. Start the clock. The 24 months begin on the date your bachelor's degree is conferred. Co-op and other pre-graduation work does not count toward them, though it can support CBA examples.
2. Work where a P.Eng. can vouch for you. For work done in Canada, your validator must have been a P.Eng. licensed in Canada when the work was carried out. Validators can be supervisors, managers, mentors, clients or colleagues from other workplaces, so if no one at your employer is licensed, plan an outside validator early (see what to do when there is no P.Eng. at your company).
3. Keep a competency log. For each project, note the dates, your role, the codes and standards used, the decisions you made and the results. That record becomes your Situation–Action–Outcome examples.
4. Write the NPPE early. PEO lets prospective applicants write it, attempts before you apply are unlimited, and a pass does not expire. You must pass it before you submit.
5. Open your application and build the CBA. Since July 1, 2026, you can start building your CBA in PEO's portal as soon as you open an application.
6. Submit when your examples are ready. Two years is the minimum, but PEO says applicants need three to four years on average to show all 34 competencies. See PEO's 24-month rule explained.

"EIT" on your resume in Ontario

If a job ad asks for "EIT", be careful how you answer, because in Ontario the title is protected. Section 40(3.2) of the Professional Engineers Act makes it an offence for anyone who is not a PEO engineering intern to use "engineering intern" or the initials "EIT" in a way that suggests they are one, with fines of up to $10,000 for a first offence.

• Don't put "EIT" after your name or call yourself a PEO-registered EIT unless PEO admitted you to its program and you still hold that status.
• If another regulator registered you, for example as an EIT with EGBC or a Member-in-Training with APEGA, name that regulator next to the title.
• Otherwise, describe where you are: your degree and year, "working toward P.Eng. licensure with PEO", "P.Eng. application in progress" once you have opened one, and "NPPE passed" with the date.
• If a recruiter asks, explain that PEO closed its EIT program to new applicants in 2023 and say when you expect to apply for your P.Eng.

Trainee status in other provinces

Most other regulators still register trainees, and each status belongs to the regulator that granted it. PEO does not require EIT status from any regulator for a P.Eng. application.

Regulator	Trainee status (September 2026)	Notes
PEO (Ontario)	Closed to new applicants since May 15, 2023	EIT 2.0 endorsed, not launched
EGBC (British Columbia)	Engineer-in-Training (EIT)	No CBA needed to register; review takes up to four months; interim validation available
APEGA (Alberta)	Member-in-Training (E.I.T.)	No CBA at this stage; the designation is valid for eight consecutive years
APEGS (Saskatchewan)	Member-in-Training (EIT)	The standard route to P.Eng.; the CBA is completed as a member-in-training
Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba	Engineering intern	The intern application includes the ABC test (90% to pass); the CBA is required to become a P.Eng.
Engineers Nova Scotia	EIT	EIT status is required to write the NPPE; CBA mandatory since July 1, 2025
APEGNB (New Brunswick)	Member-in-Training	Five years to complete the experience requirement unless the Board allows otherwise
Engineers PEI	EIT	PEI residency required; every EIT registers for the online CBA program
PEGNL (Newfoundland and Labrador)	Member-in-Training (EIT)	EIT applications with a CEAB-accredited degree take up to 15 business days
NAPEG (NWT and Nunavut)	Registrant-in-Training (RIT)	Six years to qualify; applications go through APEGA
Engineers Yukon	EIT	Academics assessed by APEGA
OIQ (Quebec)	CPI (candidate to the engineering profession)	Replaced junior engineer status; at least 24 months of supervised practice

Frequently asked questions

Can I still register as an EIT with PEO in 2026?

No. PEO's EIT program has been closed to new applicants since May 15, 2023. Council endorsed "EIT 2.0" in June 2025, but it had not launched as of September 2026.

When will EIT 2.0 start?

PEO has not announced a date. The program needs changes to the Professional Engineers Act and Regulation 941, and in early 2026 PEO said it was awaiting government approvals. PEO's Council meeting updates are the place to watch.

I became an EIT before May 2023. Am I still one?

PEO says existing EITs may remain in the program. Under the Act, engineering intern status ends when your licence application is finally dealt with or withdrawn, so it lasts only while that application is open.

Do I need to be an EIT to get my P.Eng. in Ontario?

No. You apply directly once you meet the requirements: accepted academics, 24 months of experience after your degree, a validated CBA, the NPPE passed before you submit, and good character.

Will EIT 2.0 be mandatory?

Council described it as an optional pathway to licensure. Until PEO publishes the final rules, plan on the direct P.Eng. route.

Official sources

• PEO — Engineering Intern (EIT) Program (no longer offered to new applicants)
• PEO — Important update: PEO's Engineering Intern (EIT) program (December 13, 2024)
• PEO — 568th Council meeting update (April 2025)
• PEO — 570th Council meeting update (June 2025: EIT 2.0 endorsed)
• PEO — 572nd Council update (September 2025: EIT 2.0 policy directions)
• PEO — 576th Council update (March 2026)
• PEO — Application requirements (updated July 1, 2026)
• PEO — National Professional Practice Exam (NPPE)