What’s Changing in Canadian Veterinary Medicine? 8 Trends Shaping Pet Care in 2026

From new medications and artificial intelligence to changing disease patterns and virtual care, veterinary medicine in Canada is evolving rapidly.

Canada is a nation of pet owners. According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute’s 2024 Canadian Pet Population Survey, the country has an estimated 7.2 million dogs and 8.2 million cats, with pets living in more than half of Canadian households.

Those animals are also generating significant demand for healthcare. Nearly half of Canadian dogs and one-third of Canadian cats experienced a health issue during the previous year, according to the survey. Dogs visited veterinarians about twice annually on average, while cats averaged approximately one visit.

At the same time, the way veterinarians diagnose, treat and monitor disease is changing.

Here are eight developments helping shape Canadian companion-animal medicine in 2026.

1. Veterinary Medicines Are Becoming More Targeted

One of the biggest changes in companion-animal medicine has been the movement toward treatments that target specific biological pathways rather than relying exclusively on traditional drug classes.

A good example is osteoarthritis.

Health Canada previously authorized Librela (bedinvetmab) for dogs and Solensia (frunevetmab) for cats. These monoclonal antibodies target nerve growth factor, offering veterinarians another option for managing osteoarthritis-associated pain.

The significance extends beyond these individual products.

Monoclonal antibodies have been central to human medicine for years, and their arrival in everyday veterinary practice represents a broader movement toward more targeted therapies.

Dermatology is evolving as well.

Zenrelia (ilunocitinib) entered the Canadian market in 2025 for dogs, adding another targeted treatment option in canine allergic and atopic dermatitis.

And the pipeline continues to change. In May 2026, Health Canada's database listed Numelvi (atinvicitinib) as marketed in Canada for dogs.

For veterinarians, this means the therapeutic toolbox for common chronic conditions is becoming increasingly diverse.

For pet owners, it means treatment may become more individualized rather than following a single approach for every patient.

2. Feline Diabetes Treatment Is No Longer Automatically Synonymous With Insulin Injections

For decades, a diagnosis of feline diabetes usually meant one thing for owners: insulin injections.

That assumption is changing.

Health Canada's Drug Product Database lists Senvelgo (velagliflozin oral solution) as marketed in Canada. It belongs to a newer class of medications that can allow appropriately selected diabetic cats to be treated without insulin injections.

This does not mean oral treatment is appropriate for every diabetic cat. Patient selection and careful monitoring are critical, and diabetic ketoacidosis and other complications remain important considerations.

But conceptually, this represents a major change.

Veterinary medicine is increasingly moving toward therapies that consider not only disease control, but also how realistically treatment can be administered at home.

For cats that are extremely difficult to inject — and owners struggling with twice-daily injections — that can be meaningful.

3. Artificial Intelligence Is Moving Into Everyday Veterinary Practice

Artificial intelligence may ultimately change veterinary medicine as much as many new medications.

AI tools are already being explored for:

• radiograph and medical-image interpretation,

• medical-record summarization,

• automated clinical documentation,

• laboratory-data analysis,

• clinical decision support,

• client communication,

• workflow automation, and

• population-level disease analysis.

A 2024 survey involving 3,968 veterinary professionals found considerable interest in AI and identified improved efficiency and administrative workflows among its anticipated benefits.

But Canadian veterinarians are also being urged to approach the technology carefully.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association notes that AI can potentially improve animal care and veterinary-service efficiency, while warning about problems including inaccurate outputs, biased datasets, lack of transparency and inadequate validation.

This distinction will become increasingly important:

AI can support veterinary decision-making, but it does not replace veterinary judgment.

In diagnostic imaging, for example, professional organizations have emphasized responsible validation and clinical oversight as AI tools become increasingly sophisticated.

The likely future is therefore not “AI versus veterinarian.”

It is veterinarians using appropriately validated AI tools to work more efficiently while retaining responsibility for clinical decisions.

4. Virtual Veterinary Care Is Becoming Part of the Healthcare Model

Telemedicine expanded dramatically during the pandemic, but virtual veterinary medicine is now developing into something more permanent.

In March 2026, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association released an updated position on Virtual Veterinary Care (VVC).

Virtual care can include telemedicine, teletriage, telemonitoring, electronic communication and other forms of remote veterinary interaction.

Its greatest value may not be replacing the physical veterinary examination.

Instead, virtual care can complement traditional practice through areas such as:

• chronic disease follow-up,

• postoperative monitoring,

• behavioural consultations,

• medication follow-up,

• triage,

• client education, and

• improving access for remote communities.

The regulatory picture remains important.

Veterinary medicine is regulated provincially and territorially in Canada, and the rules governing virtual care and the veterinarian-client-patient relationship can therefore differ between jurisdictions.

The emerging model is likely to be hybrid veterinary care — combining physical examinations and diagnostics with digital communication and remote monitoring when appropriate.

5. Canada’s Changing Climate Is Changing Parasite Risk

Parasite prevention in Canada can no longer be viewed entirely through the traditional idea of a short, predictable “tick season.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada states that blacklegged ticks are spreading into new areas of Canada, in part because of climate change.

Ticks can become active whenever temperatures remain above freezing and the ground is not covered by snow.

The change is visible in surveillance data.

Canada recorded:

2,525 human Lyme disease cases in 2022

4,785 in 2023

5,809 in 2024

and preliminary federal surveillance reported 7,105 cases in 2025.

Human surveillance numbers are not the same as canine Lyme disease prevalence, but they provide a powerful indicator of changing environmental exposure.

The implications extend beyond Lyme disease.

Canadian surveillance also tracks emerging tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus disease.

For veterinary medicine, geography, lifestyle and changing seasonal conditions are becoming increasingly important when veterinarians assess parasite risk.

The traditional calendar-based approach to parasite prevention is gradually being replaced by individual risk assessment based on location, travel, lifestyle and environmental exposure.

6. Antimicrobial Stewardship Is Becoming Even More Important

Antibiotics remain essential to veterinary medicine.

But the philosophy surrounding their use continues to evolve.

Antimicrobial resistance is a One Health problem: resistant organisms can affect animals, humans and the environment.

Canada now systematically tracks sales of medically important veterinary antimicrobials through the Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Reporting system.

There are encouraging signs.

Health Canada's 2024 Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Highlights Report found that the total kilograms of medically important antimicrobials sold for use in animals had fallen 17% since 2018. After adjusting for animal numbers and weight, the reduction was 19%.

From 2023 to 2024 alone, overall sales decreased another 6% by kilograms.

The future of antimicrobial stewardship is not simply about “using fewer antibiotics.”

It is about using the right antimicrobial, for the right patient, for the right reason and for an appropriate duration.

That increasingly means greater use of diagnostic testing, cytology, culture and susceptibility testing when indicated, infection-control measures and better differentiation between bacterial disease and conditions that do not require antibiotics.

7. Access to Veterinary Care Is Becoming a Major Healthcare Issue

Scientific advances matter only if animals can access them.

Canada continues to face significant veterinary workforce and access-to-care pressures.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association describes the shortage of veterinary professionals as severe.

Federal occupational projections cited by the CVMA estimate approximately 5,000 veterinarian job openings between 2022 and 2031, compared with approximately 4,300 expected job seekers.

The CVMA has also described barriers to veterinary care in Canada as a crisis affecting animal welfare and Canadians.

This is likely to drive changes in how veterinary services are delivered.

Expect greater emphasis on:

• better utilization of registered veterinary technicians and technologists,

• team-based medicine,

• community veterinary programs,

• virtual and hybrid care,

• preventive medicine,

• alternative practice models,

• internationally trained veterinary professionals, and

• technology that reduces administrative workload.

The veterinary clinic of the future may therefore look less like a veterinarian working independently and more like an integrated healthcare team.

8. Canada Is Changing How Veterinary Drugs Reach the Market

One of the most important — and least discussed — developments occurred in July 2026.

Health Canada's new Ministerial Reliance Order came into effect on July 15, 2026.

The framework allows Health Canada, under specified circumstances, to rely on decisions or documents from recognized foreign regulatory authorities when reviewing certain veterinary drug submissions.

For most veterinary drugs, recognized authorities can include regulators in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. For antiparasitic veterinary drugs, the initial framework identifies the U.S. FDA.

The objective is to reduce unnecessary duplication, improve regulatory efficiency and encourage more drug submissions in Canada while maintaining Canadian safety, efficacy and quality requirements.

This could become particularly important for Canadian veterinarians.

Canada represents a much smaller pharmaceutical market than the United States or European Union, and veterinarians have historically encountered situations where useful veterinary medications available elsewhere were unavailable or delayed in Canada.

The new system does not guarantee that every internationally available veterinary drug will quickly reach Canada.

But it creates a regulatory pathway designed to make access easier.

That could make 2026 an important turning point for veterinary pharmaceutical availability in Canada.

The Bigger Trend: Veterinary Medicine Is Moving From Reactive to Proactive Care

Taken together, these developments point toward a larger transformation.

Historically, much of companion-animal medicine has been reactive:

An animal develops symptoms → visits the veterinarian → receives diagnostic testing → receives treatment.

Increasingly, veterinary medicine is moving toward:

Risk identification → prevention → earlier detection → targeted treatment → continuous monitoring.

AI may help detect patterns hidden in large amounts of clinical information.

Wearable and remote-monitoring technologies may help track patients between appointments.

Virtual veterinary care may improve follow-up.

New pharmaceuticals may target disease pathways more precisely.

Parasite prevention may become increasingly individualized according to changing geographic risk.

And stronger antimicrobial stewardship can help preserve the effectiveness of essential medicines.

The veterinarian remains at the centre of this system — but increasingly supported by technology, data and a broader veterinary healthcare team.

What Does This Mean for Canadian Pet Owners?

For pet owners, the most important change may be philosophical.

Veterinary medicine is increasingly focused on identifying disease before an animal becomes seriously ill.

Regular examinations, appropriate laboratory screening, dental care, weight management, parasite prevention and monitoring of subtle behavioural or mobility changes become increasingly valuable as pets live longer.

Owners should also expect more choices.

The treatment recommended for one dog or cat may be very different from that recommended for another animal with the same diagnosis because age, lifestyle, concurrent disease, temperament, geography and the owner's ability to administer treatment all matter.

That is increasingly what modern veterinary medicine looks like: individualized care rather than one-size-fits-all medicine.

Looking Ahead

Canadian veterinary medicine in 2026 sits at an interesting intersection.

The profession is facing real challenges — workforce shortages, access-to-care pressures, antimicrobial resistance, changing infectious-disease patterns and the need to evaluate rapidly developing technologies.

At the same time, veterinarians have access to diagnostic and therapeutic tools that would have been difficult to imagine only a generation ago.

The next transformation in veterinary medicine will probably not come from one breakthrough.

It will come from combining better medicines, better diagnostics, better data, better access and better use of the veterinary healthcare team.

For Canada's millions of dogs and cats — and the people who care for them — that transformation is already underway.

Canasta.VET

Connecting veterinary knowledge, innovation and the future of animal healthcare in Canada.

Sources and further reading

Canadian Animal Health Institute — 2024 Canadian Pet Population Survey

Canadian Veterinary Medical Association — Virtual Veterinary Care; Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine; Veterinary Workforce Shortage; Access to Veterinary Care in Canada

Health Canada — Drug Product Database; Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Reporting; 2024 Veterinary Antimicrobial Sales Highlights Report; Ministerial Reliance Order

Public Health Agency of Canada — Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance

American Journal of Veterinary Research — 2024 survey of artificial intelligence familiarity and adoption among veterinary professionals

American College of Veterinary Radiology / European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging — Position statement on artificial intelligence in veterinary diagnostic imaging