What membership has funded
Every reversal, every submission, and every seat at the table below was funded and powered by practitioners who chose to stand together.
2017
TCM and acupuncture practitioners in Ontario had no unified association of their own to speak for them.
A small group of practitioners founded TCMO on a simple conviction: this profession needed a voice that belonged to practitioners. From a handful of early meetings to drum up support, that grassroots effort grew into the association behind every win on this page.
Political Advocacy & Community Voice
February 2022
Bill 88 proposed ending College regulation of TCM in Ontario.
TCMO mobilized a grassroots campaign of patients and practitioners, producing one of the largest turnouts of support and one of the fastest reversals the Ontario legislature has seen. TCM deregulation did not go through.
Political Advocacy
June 2024
Ontario’s new veterinary law decided which professions could legally treat animals. Chiropractors were written directly into the legislation as recognized providers, with the right to use the title “doctor” in animal care. Under the College of Veterinarians’ rules, a veterinarian with brief acupuncture training may needle an animal, while a Registered Acupuncturist with years of training in that exact skill cannot.
TCMO submitted formal feedback calling out the double standard and making the case that R.Acs and R.TCMPs are the practitioners most qualified to deliver acupuncture and TCM, for animals as much as for people.
Political Advocacy
2024–2025
A proposed regulation could expand another profession’s use of TCM modalities, further blurring the line around who owns TCM diagnosis and treatment.
TCMO submitted formal feedback affirming that TCM diagnosis is a controlled act belonging to R.TCMPs and R.Acs, defending the integrity of the scope you trained for.
Political Advocacy
2025
Proposed entry requirements for the Dr. TCM title could have created barriers that exclude qualified, currently practising R.TCMPs.
TCMO submitted formal feedback opposing retroactive barriers, supported the university requirement being dropped, and advocated for an accessible pathway modelled on British Columbia’s working designation.
Political Advocacy
2023, 2024, 2025
There was no unified voice representing the profession to MPPs at Queen’s Park.
Three successful Queen’s Park receptions and days of meetings have established TCMO as the voice of the profession with provincial decision-makers.
Practice Legitimacy & Public Trust
2024–2025
A national primary care reference guiding how teams and policymakers understand each profession was drafted without acupuncture or TCM, while listing it as a technique other providers can pick up.
TCMO authored a dedicated TCM and acupuncture entry and coordinated with associations across provinces to push for the profession’s proper inclusion in interprofessional care models.
Practice Legitimacy & Public Trust
June 2026
Ontario is deciding right now which providers belong in its expanding primary care system. The conference drew 780+ clinicians, community leaders, and policymakers building those models.
TCMO brought TCM to the table, making the case to 780+ clinicians, community leaders, and provincial policymakers shaping Ontario’s primary care expansion.
Practice Legitimacy & Public Trust
Ongoing
The College regulates the profession, and its consultations shape the rules every R.Ac and R.TCMP practises under: entry requirements, scope, titles, standards. When practitioners do not engage, those decisions still get made — just without the working practitioner’s voice in the room.
TCMO responds to the College’s consultations as a matter of course, from the Dr. TCM title to entry requirements and beyond, so the practitioner perspective is consistently and credibly on the record. You cannot track and respond to every regulatory consultation on your own. TCMO does it for you.
Political Advocacy
Ongoing
For a profession to be taken seriously by regulators, government, and insurers, it needs one clear, credible voice. When representation is fragmented, decision makers do not know who actually speaks for practitioners, and influence gets diluted right when it matters most.
TCMO has done the work real representation requires: proper incorporation, a governing board, transparent bylaws, regular AGMs, and the sustained advocacy record this page lays out. That foundation is what lets regulators and government treat TCMO as a serious, reliable partner.
Practice Legitimacy & Public Trust
2025 and ongoing
The TCM Act bars testimonials and treatment packages that chiropractors and physiotherapists are permitted to use, leaving TCM practitioners harder to find and harder to trust online.
TCMO is advocating to amend O. Reg 318/12 to allow responsible testimonials and packages with appropriate safeguards.
Political Advocacy
2025 and ongoing
Unaccredited practitioners with minimal training use the term “acupuncture,” diluting what it means to the public, insurers, and regulators.
TCMO is advocating with the Ministry of Health for a scope review so the term is used by CTCMPAO-registered practitioners.
Political Advocacy
2026 and beyond
Scope creep is accelerating. A weekend or 100-hour “acupuncture” certificate stands in for the more than 2,000 hours an R.Ac actually completes, and social media ads push quick credentials that sidestep regulated scope entirely. Every time it happens the public gets a diluted, riskier version of the medicine.
Members can flag infringements confidentially through TCMO’s Scope of Practice Reporting Line. TCMO reviews the evidence and, where warranted, files with the right regulator or platform on the profession’s behalf — so individual practitioners are not the ones who have to stick their necks out.
Practice Sustainability
Planned
The public still reads acupuncture as a spa add-on rather than a regulated, evidence-informed profession.
TCMO is producing a series of public advocacy videos for social media and YouTube showing what R.Acs and R.TCMPs are actually trained to do, and the role the profession can play in Ontario’s healthcare system. Your membership is what puts this work on screen.
Practice Legitimacy & Public Trust
Add your voice. Join TCMO and help fund the advocacy that protects your scope, your livelihood, and the future of this medicine in Ontario.
Become a member Read the letter from our Board
Questions? info@tcmo.ca | 1-888-833-7220