Hey Canadiangal,
Also being Canadian, the process is a little different for us. To succesfully submit an application, you need to provide proof that you have at least a grade 12 education with passes in Math, English and Science. Just providing a student transcript isnt good enough either, you need to have an original copy notarized and brought to a governing body (Im in NSW it may be different in other states) so that they can review it an and provide you with a document indicating that your education meets the criteria.
Once you've gone through that and complete your application you get an invitation to complete the online testing. I haven't heard of anyone not being invited to do the testing although, I assume it must happen from time to time.
I think the online test is the first marker to eliminate candidates who arent suitable for the role however; thats purely speculation on my part.
Hope this helps.
Oh, and it took around the 3 week time frame to get the nod to do the online test I think....its been quite a while so I cant really recall with any specific accuracy.