College Diploma - Paralegal Education

The Paralegal Education diploma is a two-year program accredited toward licensing with the Law Society of Ontario — one of the few college credentials that leads to a regulated, independent scope of practice.

Coursework covers the Canadian legal system and constitutional framework, civil litigation procedure and the Small Claims Court, provincial offences and traffic matters, landlord and tenant law, employment and human rights law, administrative law and tribunal practice, evidence and advocacy, legal research and writing, ethics and professional responsibility, and legal accounting and practice management. Moot and mock tribunal work runs throughout, and the field placement puts students in firms, clinics or tribunal settings.

The distinguishing feature in Ontario is that licensed paralegals can represent clients independently in defined areas — Small Claims, provincial offences, tribunals — rather than only assisting lawyers. Licensing requires passing the Law Society examination after graduation, so plan for that step.

The work placement is a graded part of the program, so you finish with documented Canadian experience and a referee rather than only a transcript.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The North campus in Etobicoke is its main site, running technology, engineering, health science, business and skilled trades programs in purpose-built labs and shops rather than lecture halls, with three intakes a year and the deepest employer network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Its field maps to CIP 22.0302 (Legal assistant/paralegal). Important: this is a college credential rather than a degree, so it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s eligible list when you apply. Humber publishes a PGWP-eligible program list with CIP codes; check it, and confirm with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. IRCC makes the final decision.