This depends on the specific province/territory in which a therapist is practicing.
In the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario the term “Osteopath” is a protected title and refers to a Medical Doctor that has specialized training in Osteopath Therapy. In these 4 provinces the title is protected by their respective College of Physicians and Surgeons. There are currently no schools in Canada that provide this specialized training, rather most of these Medical Osteopaths are trained in the United States. In these provinces those trained in osteopathic manual therapy are referred to as Manual Osteopathic Therapists, Osteopathic Manual Therapists, or Osteopathic Manual Practitioners. These therapists are non-physicians who have been trained in a specialized school of Manual Osteopathic Therapy.
In the remaining provinces and territories in Canada, the terms Osteopath, Manual Osteopathic Therapist, Osteopathic Manual Therapist or Osteopathic Manual practitioners are interchangeable, as no title protection exists. Those who are Medical (Physician) Osteopaths will often use this language to describe themselves, leaving the other titles listed above to those who have been trained in the classic osteopathic manual therapy, either here in Canada or elsewhere around the globe.
In this respect, in accordance with the World Health Organization’s Benchmarks for Training in Osteopathy there are 2 different pathways to obtaining training to become a Manual Osteopathic Therapist.
The first training program – which is referred to as Type 1 – is “aimed at those with little or no prior health-care training, but who have completed high school education or equivalent. These programs typically are four-year, full-time programs. A typical type 1 program would take 4200 hours, including at least 1000 hours of supervised clinical practice and training.”
The second training program – which is referred to as Type 2 – is “aimed at those with prior training as health-care professionals. Type 2 programs have the same aims and content as the Type 1 programs, but the course content and length may be modified depending on the prior experience and training of individual applicants.” This program is typically around 1000 hours in length and is adapted depending on the individual’s prior training and knowledge.
Either pathway leads to the therapist having the same set of professional competencies. In that respect there is no difference between a Type 1 or Type 2 therapist.
You can view the entire World Health Organization Document – Benchmarks for Training in Osteopathy by visiting here: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241599665