The cost of bringing your furry friend to the vet varies wildly across the country.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Vass Bednar is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail and host of the podcast Lately. She is the executive director of McMaster University’s master of public policy program and co-author of The Big Fix.
As affordability dominates the national conversation, the federal government has pledged to “bring down costs for Canadians” but hasn’t elaborated on how. Pocketbook attention often lands on groceries, rent and gas, but there’s another essential service quietly straining household budgets: veterinary care. From coast to coast, pet owners are still being blindsided when they take their pet to the vet. Moderating animal-care pricing needs to be part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s affordability agenda.
From spaying a cat to emergency care for a dog, veterinary fees vary wildly across the country. Pet parents have no reliable way of knowing what’s “normal” when they walk into a clinic, and no real recourse when they walk out with a bill that feels punishing. That’s because – unlike human health care in Canada – veterinary care is a patchwork of unregulated pricing. And as more clinics are scooped up by corporate chains backed by U.S. private equity, costs keep rising.
Canadians spent $9.3-billion on veterinary services in 2023, with annual costs averaging $4,137 for dogs and $2,849 for cats. According to a recent Abacus poll, nearly three-quarters of pet owners say veterinarian fees are high, with more than one in three saying they are “unreasonably” so. Only one in four believes the fees are fair. Meow!
Pet drugs could be sold cheaply at pharmacies. This is why they’re not
Why owning a dog or cat in Canada has become so expensive
Each province and territory has their own Veterinary Act, which establishes a regulatory college, defines a veterinarian’s scope of practice and sets licensing requirements. But none regulates what rates vets can charge. Unlike doctors and nurses, their fees aren’t subject to provincial oversight.
Veterinary associations provide suggested fee guides for small-animal procedures, but it’s non-binding and purely voluntary. It’s a polite nudge, not policy. And while most provinces require vets to provide cost estimates when asked, many pet owners still report being surprised by bills, especially when procedures are bundled with diagnostics and unforeseen follow-up fees.
The result? Veterinary services in Canada look more like the much-derided U.S. health care model: Privately delivered, often offset by insurance and governed by market dynamics instead of public policy. One concerning CBC Marketplace investigation found that while consumers often compare exam fees, they rarely know to ask for prices on procedures or medications, and may get charged whatever the market will bear. Why are people at the mercy of market forces when it comes to caring for their pets? It’s hard to believe this is the best we can do.
There’s precedent for change. In Germany, veterinary fees are subject to minimum and maximum charges for most services. Vets can charge up to three times the base rate in special cases, but they must explain why (reasons can range from the complexity of the procedure to the time required).
In Canada, we could work together to officially crowdsource what rates tend to be, and similarly establish a median with rules for deviation that get periodically reviewed.
We should set a legally binding maximum price for pet care services. This kind of price-capping often gets dismissed as being outdated or resisted as overly interventionist. But it’s not unheard of, especially when it comes to essential products and services. Democratic price regulation can prevent essential services from becoming luxury goods. In the U.S., former president Joe Biden capped insulin prices at US$35 in 2023. One of Justin Trudeau’s final actions as prime minister was to cap non-sufficient fund banking fees at $10, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission‘s Wireless Code mandates that telecom companies can’t charge more than $100 for data roaming per billing cycle. If Canada can control these costs, surely we can do better for pets.
The Competition Bureau of Canada has chimed in to remind us that policy choices can improve affordability. A 2024 bureau report highlighted how Quebec pharmacists have access to veterinary drug supplies, giving consumers the option to get meds for their pets somewhere other than their veterinarians. Twenty years ago, the United Kingdom mandated price transparency and ensured pharmacists could compete fairly with veterinary practices in dispensing medications. They were ahead of us, and we should catch up.
Economic sovereignty isn’t just about securing supply chains or boosting domestic manufacturing. It’s also about reining in runaway costs for the everyday services that matter most to people. From giving Canadians more competitive options, such as allowing pharmacists to dispense pet medication, to regulating and limiting fees, provinces can help to keep the joy of pet ownership affordable.
Canadians care deeply about their pets. Provinces should prove they do, too, by finally protecting pet owners from unpredictable pricing and unchecked consolidation in the veterinary market.