Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) is teaming up with Québec’s Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF) to create a more unified approach to professionalizing the planning industry, the organizations announced Friday.

Earlier this month, the FPSC announced that it will rebrand itself as FP Canada in April 2019, expanding its mission beyond standard setting and administering the CFP designation to also include developing planners’ professional skills.

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Today’s announcement confirms IQPF will become a partner with FP Canada. The strategic partnership will give planners in Quebec a role in the governance of FP Canada, and will see the creation of a joint strategy committee, “for establishing a fully national strategy… with the goal of creating a stronger Canada-wide profession,” the organizations say in a news release. It also means that FP Canada will operate in both French and English, and will maintain a bilingual website.

The two financial planning bodies share the objective of transforming financial planning into a true profession. “Achieving that goal requires greater harmonization amongst the organizations leading the development of the profession, greater consistency in the profession’s evolution and efficient use of resources towards that end across the country, while recognizing the provincial jurisdictions over professions in Canada,” they say.

“This announcement creates an alliance that will drive meaningful progress towards our shared goals and toward FP Canada’s mandate of leading the advancement of professional financial planning,” says Cary List, FPSC president and CEO, in a statement.

“IQPF and FPSC have had a strong relationship for many years,” adds Jocelyne Houle-LeSarge, IQPF president and CEO. “Establishing IQPF’s comprehensive participation as a Proud Partner of FP Canada further solidifies our bond, and positions both organizations for success in our efforts to foster better financial health for consumers.”