Is the D.E.C an Associate degree?

Tanya,
Yes it is equivalent. I also did my DEC in Quebec and went on to do my BSN and MSN in the US.

Interesting.
Makes we wonder now...
Could a nurse with an ADN earned in the US, in turn, work in Canada and vice versa?
(Just wondering, b/c for some reason, I always thought the minimum level education of nursing degrees accepted in Canada was the Bachelor's (or US equivalent, the BSN)

If ADN acceptable in Canada, does it limit the nurse's practice in any way compared to BSNc?

Some provinces are still accepting a nursing diploma as entry to practice. Alberta, for example, will accept a diploma until December 31, 2009, after which the entry to practice will be a baccalaureate degree. For nurses already practicing, they have to provide proof of registration in their current jurisdiction, proof of work experience and references. For those educated outside Canada there is also an assessment of the education to ensure it's substantively equivalent.

A diploma does limit a nurse's practice in a sense... most administrative positions, research positions, and a few others will state in the posting that the position requires a degree. For those working at the bedside, it has a small impact on income, the degree being worth a couple of bucks an hour in additional pay per hour. I have a diploma; I am senior staff in a level 4 PICU and I make pretty good money. The casual observer, even one with inside information, would have a hard time identifying me as a diploma-prepared nurse in comparison with my degree-prepared coworkers. So to me, the impact is negligible. But that's MHO.

I did my BSN via distance ed through St.Joseph's College in Maine, it was not yeat offered on-line at the time but I believe it is now.

Manitoba still offers a diploma program - I believe they got rid of the diploma program a number of years ago but had to reinstate it because of drastically falling numbers of new grads.

That's exactly what happened. In 1997 they had the last intake of diploma students at the Misericordia and Red RIver College. then by 2001 they were rethinking the whole thing because the number of grads weren't even replacing the nurses who were retiring, never mind any other form of attrition. In August of '01 they reopened the diploma program at Red River, much to the disgust of some hard-line PhD nurses. There are currently no plans to close the program again.

It is a bit more difficult than most people realize. I took my ADN in the US and applied to take the exam in BC but before they let you do so you have to do about a 2-3 month type of preceptorship which means returning to Canada and I am currently working in the US. I wanted to take the exam while I was still in student mode but it is NOT easy to do so. For the time being it is easier just staying in the US rather than coming back to Canada even though I am Canadian. Taking NCLEX for a Canadian is easier than the reverse.