Optometrist

Eye exams, glasses, contacts and eye disease. Regular hours, but only one English-language school in Canada.

Typical pay: $81,000a year
Time to qualify: 7 to 8 yearsafter high school
Demand: Very high
Licence needed: Yesregulated job

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Where to study to become an optometrist in Canada

Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.

Colleges

Assistance en optométrieLa Cité, meet the course requirements

Every university, each on its own page · Every college

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Quick answers

How much does an optometrist make in Canada?

The median pay is about $81,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $33,000 at the lower end to about $162,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become an optometrist in Canada?

7 to 8 years after high school, on the usual route.

What does it cost to become an optometrist?

$121,000 to $174,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a licence to work as an optometrist in Canada?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a licence or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for an optometrist in Canada?

Very high demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Optometrist salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What optometrists make

Median

$81,000

Lower end

$33,000

Upper end

$162,000

These are Job Bank (the Government of Canada job site) figures for optometrists, a year, from the 2021 Census (Statistics Canada). Job Bank notes that a large number of optometrists are self-employed. Associates are paid a daily rate or a share of billings. Owners also earn from selling glasses and contacts on top of exam fees. Pay varies by province, partly because some provincial health plans pay for eye exams and others do not.

Where pay is highest

$97,000 a year

The median in Quebec, from the Census

Alberta is next at $84,000 and Ontario at $78,000. New associates are often paid a daily rate set clinic by clinic.

What it costs to get there

University before optometry school (3 to 4 years): $7,000 to $10,000 a year
OAT (optometry admission test): A few hundred US dollars
OD (doctor of optometry) degree, 4 years: $18,800 to $26,700 a year at Waterloo for Ontario students, plus about $17,000 in equipment and books over the 4 years; far more at US schools
OEBC (Optometry Examining Board of Canada) exams: About $5,900 for both parts
Provincial registration and insurance: $2,000 to $4,000 a year

Roughly, all in

$121,000 to $174,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is three years of undergraduate study at the cheaper end, the OAT (optometry admission test), four years of the doctor of optometry degree at Waterloo at the Ontario rate, the roughly $17,000 of equipment and books the program requires, the OEBC (Optometry Examining Board of Canada) exams and your first year of registration and insurance. The high end is four years of undergraduate study and the higher Waterloo rate, with the same fees on top. Studying in the United States can cost roughly double either figure. Registration and insurance are annual costs that continue for your whole career.

Total tuition of $100,000 to $150,000 in Canada is typical. Studying in the US can double that.

Benefits

Few, as an associate
Many associates are self-employed and buy their own health plan and retirement savings.
Chains sometimes offer more
Corporate clinics may offer a salary, a health plan and paid vacation.
Glasses and contacts at no charge
A common perk.
Predictable hours
Rarely any nights or on-call.

How to become an optometrist in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming an optometrist, step by step

Outside Quebec: university, an admission test, then a four-year professional doctorate. Quebec has its own route: tap Quebec route to add it.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Biology, chemistry, physics, calculus and English.
2
University science
3 to 4 years
At least 3 years, and most successful applicants finish a 4-year degree. Specific prerequisites include organic chemistry, physics, statistics and psychology.
3
OAT (optometry admission test)
One day, during university
A computer test of biology, chemistry, physics, reading and quantitative reasoning.
4
OD (doctor of optometry) degree
4 years
4 years. Waterloo is the only English-language program in Canada. Université de Montréal teaches in French, over 5 years, straight from CEGEP (public college). Many Canadians study in the US instead.
5
OEBC (Optometry Examining Board of Canada) exams and provincial licence
A few months
A written exam and a hands-on skills exam, then register with your provincial college.

High school courses that help you become an optometrist

Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Optics is physics. This one matters more than for most health careers.
Calculus
English

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 7 to 8
Waterloo admission: In 2026, 90 seats for 280 applicants; the admitted class averaged 84%
Total tuition: $100,000 to $150,000 in Canada
Paid while training?: No

A regulated profession

Only registered optometrists can test eyes and prescribe glasses, contacts and eye drops. Each province has a college, for example the College of Optometrists of Ontario. The OEBC (Optometry Examining Board of Canada) exam is accepted everywhere, so moving is straightforward. Optometrists are not medical doctors: eye surgery belongs to ophthalmologists.

Where people study

University of Waterloo
Ontario. The only English-language program in Canada.
Université de Montréal
Quebec, in French. A 5 year doctorate entered from CEGEP (public college), with no OAT (optometry admission test).
US optometry schools
Several accept many Canadians every year. The degree is recognized back home after the OEBC (Optometry Examining Board of Canada) exam.

Quebec routeIn Quebec? The route is different. 1 more card.

The path in Quebec

In Quebec you go straight from CEGEP (public college) to a 5 year optometry doctorate, in French, with no admission test.

1
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
With Secondary V math (Technical and Scientific, or Science option), chemistry and physics. These are the entry courses for the CEGEP (public college) science program.
2
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
2 to 3 years
A 2 year CEGEP (public college) program (200.B1) with biology and chemistry. The 3 year optician DEC (160.A0) also qualifies, with extra math, chemistry and physics courses.
3
OD (Doctor of Optometry) at Université de Montréal
5 years
The only optometry school in Quebec. 5 years, 197 credits, in French. 56 places, chosen on grades, a motivation questionnaire and an interview. No OAT (optometry admission test).
4
OOQ (Ordre des optométristes du Québec) permit
After graduating
The Montréal doctorate itself qualifies you for the permit from the OOQ, the Quebec order of optometrists. Take out liability insurance, register on the roll and show French.

What helps you get ahead as an optometrist

Things you don't need, but that help.

Extra credentials that change the job

Residency
An optional 1-year residency in eye disease, low vision or pediatrics. Opens hospital and teaching jobs.
Dry eye and myopia control clinics
Growing private-pay services inside a regular practice.
Specialty contact lenses
Fitting hard and custom lenses for difficult eyes.
Ownership
Buying into a clinic means you earn from the business, not only from exams.

Nice-to-haves before you apply

Work in an optical store
Learn frames, lenses and the retail side. Admissions likes it.
Shadow an optometrist
Expected on most applications.
A business course or two
Many optometrists end up running a store.
French
Opens the Montreal program and bilingual jobs in Quebec and New Brunswick.

Ophthalmology is a different road

If you want to do eye surgery, that is ophthalmology: medical school plus a 5-year residency, about 13 years in total. Optometry is the shorter path into eye care, with regular hours and no surgery.

What being an optometrist is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

What an optometrist does day to day

Exams every 20 to 30 minutes, 15 to 25 patients a day. Each one: history, vision test, refraction to find the prescription, eye health check with drops and imaging, then explaining the results and handing off to the optical staff for glasses. A few patients each day have something real: glaucoma, a retinal tear, a scratched cornea, diabetes showing up in the back of the eye.

The honest pros and cons of being an optometrist

The good

A Job Bank median of about $81,000, with regular hours
No residency required
A mix of medicine, technology and retail
Easy to own your own business

The hard parts

Only one English-language school in Canada
Retail chains push volume and sales
Exams get repetitive
Expensive degree, especially in the US

Work life

Typical hours: 35 to 40 a week, some Saturdays in retail
Remote work: Rare
Physical demand: Low
Unionized: No

Similar paths

Like the field but not this exact job?

Things nobody tells you about being an optometrist

Things people don't tell you.

One school, in English

The University of Waterloo trains every English-speaking optometrist educated in Canada, 90 in its 2026 first-year class. Everyone else studies at the Université de Montréal or in the US.

A small, busy profession

Job Bank counted about 6,400 optometrists in Canada in 2023, and rates the outlook very good. A large number of them are self-employed.

Whether you pay for the exam depends on your age

In Ontario, the provincial plan pays for a yearly eye exam up to age 19, one every 18 months from 65, and for adults with conditions such as diabetes. Other adults usually pay or use a work benefits plan.

Nearsightedness is booming

Rates of myopia (nearsightedness) in children have climbed in many countries, linked to close-up work and less time outdoors. Slowing it down in kids is now a growing part of optometry.

How an optometrist compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More health careers in Canada

Dental and eye care first, then the rest of the field. See every career in health.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.