If you've seen "ND" after a practitioner's name and wondered what it means, you're not alone. A naturopathic doctor (ND) is a regulated primary health care provider in several Canadian provinces. Here's a plain-language look at how NDs are trained, who oversees them, and what they do.
How naturopathic doctors are trained
In Canada, becoming an ND starts with undergraduate university study, including prerequisite sciences. Students then complete a four-year, full-time program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM), which has campuses in Toronto and New Westminster, BC. The program combines biomedical sciences with clinical training and ends with a supervised clinical internship. Graduates then write standardized licensing exams before applying to register in a regulated province.
Who regulates naturopathic doctors
Naturopathic medicine is regulated provincially. Where it's regulated, a provincial college licenses NDs, sets standards of practice and ethics, and keeps a public registry. Examples include:
- British Columbia - College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC)
- Alberta - College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta
- Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan Association of Naturopathic Practitioners
- Ontario - College of Naturopaths of Ontario
Nova Scotia's NDs became regulated in 2026. In provinces and territories without regulation, there's no licensing requirement for people offering naturopathic services. The public registry matters to you as a patient. You can use it to confirm that a practitioner is currently licensed before you book.
What falls within an ND's scope of practice
Scope of practice is set by each province's legislation and regulator, so it isn't identical across Canada. Some therapies, such as prescribing certain medications, are permitted in some provinces but not others, and often require additional certification. Depending on the province and the practitioner's training, an ND's work may include:
- Taking a health history and performing physical exams
- Ordering certain laboratory tests
- Counselling on nutrition, sleep, stress and other lifestyle factors
- Recommending botanical medicines and natural health products
- Additional therapies that require separate certification, which the practitioner can explain
Every ND's practice looks a little different. Many list focus areas, such as digestive health, women's health or mental wellness, that reflect where they concentrate their continuing education and clinical time.
Working alongside your other providers
Many patients see an ND alongside their family doctor, pharmacist, physiotherapist or other health professionals. Naturopathic care is meant to fit within your wider care team, not replace it. In practice, working together can look like:
- Sharing information, with your consent. Your ND may request recent lab results or reports from your family doctor, or send a summary of their assessment and recommendations back, so everyone is working from the same picture.
- Checking for interactions. Supplements and botanical medicines can interact with prescription medications. Your ND can review what you're taking, and your pharmacist is another good resource for double-checking.
- Referring when needed. NDs are trained to recognize when a concern falls outside their scope of practice or needs urgent attention, and to refer you to the right provider.
- Shared clinic settings. Some NDs practice in multidisciplinary clinics alongside other practitioners such as chiropractors, physiotherapists, registered massage therapists or medical doctors, which can make coordination simpler.
You play a part too. Keep an up-to-date list of your medications and supplements, bring it to every appointment, and let each provider know about any new treatment you start. If you'd like your providers to share information directly, you can ask each of them about consent to release records.
Finding a naturopathic doctor
On NetND, you can browse licensed naturopathic doctors across Canada and filter by focus area and location. Each profile links to the practitioner's own clinic so you can learn more and reach out when you're ready.
This article is for general educational purposes and isn't a substitute for individual medical advice. Please speak with a licensed health care provider about your own health.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Please talk with a qualified healthcare provider about your own health.
