There is a shortage of veterinarians in Canada. For a farmer tending to a sick cow while waiting on hold for a veterinarian who might or might not have an opening that week, or for anyone living in a rural town who has driven three hours to get a sick dog treated, that is nothing new. The Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island is expanding, which is news and truly encouraging even though it doesn’t solve every problem. It will increase the number of seats from 70 to 95 starting in August 2027, adding 25 new students annually.
Twenty-five pupils. That figure seems almost insignificant in light of the estimated 4,000 veterinarian shortage in the country. And it is, in a sense. However, if you take the time to consider what it truly takes to create a functional workforce of animal health professionals—the years of clinical practice, the training, and the licensing—you begin to realize that 25 more graduates annually, compounded over time, isn’t nothing. It’s a significant portion of the solution, but it’s not the whole one.
For many years, the main training facility for veterinarians in the Atlantic provinces has been the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College. According to the college’s associate dean of academic and student affairs, its goal is to produce professionals who, ideally, stay close to where they trained and fill local gaps. It is important to have a regional focus. The shortage is particularly acute in specialized fields in rural areas of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and P.E.I. itself. Even P.E.I., which is located next to the college, has had trouble filling some positions lately.
Speaking with veterinary professionals, it seems that the shortage developed more quickly than anticipated. This summer, Dr. Andrew Cohen, vice-president of the P.E.I. Veterinary Medical Association, will travel across the nation on locum contracts, visiting areas lacking basic emergency veterinary care. His coworkers are following suit. It’s a quiet kind of crisis, not dramatic or abrupt, but the kind that builds up until one day a pet owner discovers the closest emergency clinic is two provinces away, or a farmer can’t find a large-animal veterinarian within a reasonable distance.
It takes four years to become a veterinarian. In professional education, that is a fixed biological reality. Students who enroll in the expanded AVC program in 2027 won’t graduate until 2031. This implies that the current gap won’t close anytime soon and that the deficit will continue to grow as demand increases. Ownership of pets increased both during and after the pandemic. The livestock sector is growing. Expectations for specialty care have increased. A system that was already overburdened is put under pressure by all of that.
It’s worth taking a moment to consider the picture’s cost. The unsubsidized category, which includes students from outside of Atlantic Canada, pays about $85,000 in tuition annually. Although the college points out that it’s comparable to out-of-state American schools and international veterinary programs, it’s still a substantial figure. Students from Atlantic provinces pay much less, about $16,000 a year, with their provinces paying the remaining amount. Everyone understands the math: the financial calculus of veterinary medicine, particularly in rural or lower-income practice areas, can be taxing for someone drawn to the field but paying market tuition.
The background chatter surrounding international hiring is getting louder. Officials in the field have admitted that, at least temporarily, Canada might need to look outside its borders for veterinarians with international training. Although it’s not an easy route—credentialing, licensing harmonization, and public trust considerations all play a role—it’s becoming more and more appealing.
In the end, institutional seriousness is what the Atlantic Veterinary College seat expansion represents. It’s a school admitting that the current situation isn’t working and allocating funds to alter it. It’s still unclear if 25 more seats tip the balance. The nation requires more, and more quickly. However, some of the larger group of students coming to the Island in 2027 will likely wind up working in a small-town clinic that has been understaffed for years. And that will have genuine significance for those towns’ farmers and pet owners.
