Vet Costs in Canada: What the CVMA/OVMA Cost of Care Study Actually Shows

Canadian pet owners are paying more for veterinary care every year, almost none of them are insured against a large bill, and a majority say they've skipped or delayed care because of cost.

Vet costs in Canada have been rising an estimated 6–8% a year, only about 3.7% of Canadian dogs and cats are covered by pet insurance, and a single emergency visit can run from roughly CAD 1,000 to CAD 10,000 (source: money.ca, reporting on NAPHIA's 2026 State of the Industry Report).

Canada has no public healthcare coverage for veterinary care — Medicare covers people, not pets — so every dollar of that cost lands directly on the owner. Here's what the numbers actually say, and where they come from.

According to money.ca — a Canadian financial media outlet reporting on third-party survey data, not the original research body itself — citing NAPHIA (the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, the insurance industry's trade body) 2026 State of the Industry Report, only 3.7% of dogs and cats in Canada currently have pet health insurance. That's despite roughly 60% of Canadian households owning at least one dog or cat, per the same reporting. Vet costs, meanwhile, have been climbing an estimated 6–8% annually — well above general consumer inflation in recent years — which widens the gap between what an uninsured pet owner might reasonably expect to pay and what an emergency visit can actually cost.

That gap shows up starkly in a single figure: money.ca reports that more than half of Canadian pet owners say they couldn't afford an unexpected vet bill of CAD 1,000 or more — and a single emergency visit can run anywhere from about CAD 1,000 to CAD 10,000 depending on what's needed.

You'll see "the CVMA Cost of Care Study" referenced across Canadian pet-cost content, often with specific annual figures attached (numbers in the range of roughly CAD 5,000 for a dog and CAD 3,700 for a cat, per year, are commonly cited). Here's what this article can actually confirm about that study, and what it can't.

Pets Plus Us — a Canadian pet insurance brand underwritten by Northbridge General Insurance — states on its own site that it has "partnered with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) to sponsor the CVMA Cost of Care Study." That confirms the study exists and is backed by two veterinary professional bodies (the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association), with Pets Plus Us as a commercial sponsor — not the author.

What we're flagging rather than glossing over: this article was not able to locate and verify the original CVMA/OVMA study report itself, so the specific annual cost figures sometimes attached to it elsewhere online are not repeated here as confirmed numbers. If you're budgeting for a pet and want the primary figures, look for CVMA's or OVMA's own published research directly rather than a secondhand number pulled from a comparison site — and keep in mind that Pets Plus Us, as the sponsor, has a commercial interest in figures that make pet insurance look like good value.

A PetSmart Charities of Canada–Gallup survey of 369 practicing veterinarians, released in February 2026 and reported by money.ca, found that 96% of Canadian vets say their clients' financial situation sometimes or often blocks pets from getting the care they need. On the owner side of the same research, roughly half of Canadian pet owners said they'd skipped or declined veterinary care for their pet in the past year, and 67% of those who declined care said cost was the specific reason.

The detail worth sitting with is this: it isn't only a low-income problem. Among households earning more than CAD 90,000 a year, 27% still reported skipping veterinary care they otherwise wanted because they couldn't afford it. A six-figure-adjacent household income doesn't necessarily mean an unexpected CAD 3,000–5,000 procedure is easy to absorb — which is part of why insurance penetration and emergency savings both matter more than income alone.

• Budget for cost growth, not just the current price. At an estimated 6–8% annual increase, a routine visit that costs CAD 100 today is a meaningfully different number in five years — build some cushion into any long-term pet budget rather than pricing off last year's bill.
• Treat "can I afford a CAD 1,000+ emergency" as a real question, not a hypothetical. More than half of Canadian owners say they currently can't — worth checking honestly where you'd land, and whether an emergency fund or insurance changes that answer.
• If you're considering insurance, read the actual policy, not just industry cost-of-care marketing. Coverage caps, waiting periods, and pre-existing-condition exclusions vary a lot between insurers — a low headline insurance-penetration rate (3.7%) doesn't tell you whether a specific policy is worth it for your situation.
• Ask your clinic for a written estimate before a major procedure, and ask what happens if the actual cost runs higher — a PetHealthMap Canada clinic listing is a starting point for finding a vet who'll walk through pricing with you.
• Lowering a specific, predictable cost is more actionable than budgeting around an average. Spay/neuter surgery, for example, has real subsidised options in several Canadian cities — see our guide to free and subsidised pet desexing in Canada for what's actually available.
• If you're moving provinces with a pet, factor ongoing vet costs into the same budget as any pet deposit or rent difference — see our guide to renting with pets in Canada for how provincial rental rules interact with pet ownership.

This article summarises third-party financial reporting and industry survey data for general planning purposes and is not financial or veterinary advice. The CVMA/OVMA Cost of Care Study is referenced based on a commercial sponsor's description of it, not the original study document, and specific dollar figures attributed to it elsewhere have not been independently verified here — check directly with the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) or the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) for primary figures. This article has not yet been reviewed by a Canadian-licensed veterinarian or financial professional — PetHealthMap is working on establishing local review for Canadian-market content.