PetThe short version
Vet costs in Canada start at $60–$150 for a routine exam and run to five figures for the things nobody plans for. Vaccines are $20–$40 each and a dental cleaning under anesthetic is commonly $500–$1,200. Then the other end: a cruciate repair at $4,000–$8,000 all-in, a swallowed sock at $2,000–$10,000, a cancer protocol from $3,000 to $15,000+. Prices vary by province — Ontario and Alberta sit above the national average, Quebec and PEI below it. (Figures are estimates compiled from public Canadian sources, not quotes. Each guide shows its own workings.)
Our own research
Not a roundup of other people's numbers — the cost work this site is built on, published openly with its method.
The Canadian Vet Cost Index
Costs grouped by financial tier, regional and provincial variation, and the full sourcing method — six tables, free to cite, with the raw data as a downloadable CSV.
2026 Canadian Vet Cost Report
The headline findings in one place, written to be quotable — for journalists, and for anyone who wants the summary before the detail.
What a vet visit costs
The everyday numbers, for the appointments most owners book most often.
Average vet visit cost
The consultation fee on its own, and what usually gets added to it before you reach the till.
Cat vet costs
Routine visits, dental, and the big feline emergencies — what cat care really costs.
Dog vet costs
Routine care through cruciate surgery and cancer — what dog care really costs.
Dental cleaning cost
Why anesthetic dental work costs what it does, and what the quote should itemize.
Spay & neuter cost
Clinic, low-cost programme and specialist pricing, with the per-province spread.
Puppy vaccination cost
The full first-year series, shot by shot, and what the boosters visit runs after it.
The bills that end up on a credit card
Low-frequency, high-cost, and the reason this site exists.
Emergency vet visit cost
What a walk-in, diagnostics and hospitalization actually run at a Canadian ER.
Cancer treatment cost
Chemo, surgery and radiation prices, and how far a payout cap actually goes against them.
ACL / cruciate surgery cost
TPLO and the alternatives — the most common major orthopedic bill in dogs.
Foreign object surgery
The swallowed sock, the corn cob, the toy — endoscopy versus open surgery, and the price gap.
Bloat (GDV) surgery cost
A same-hour emergency in deep-chested dogs, priced from stabilization through surgery.
Broken bone repair cost
Splint, plate or pin — what changes the number, and what follow-up adds.
Vet costs by province
The same procedure is not the same price in Halifax and Calgary. These pages hold the local numbers.
Ontario
The largest market and among the most expensive — GTA pricing against the rest of the province.
Quebec
Consistently below the national average, with its own fee-guide history.
British Columbia
Metro Vancouver and Victoria against the Interior and the north.
Alberta
The highest exam fees in the country in the most recent per-province survey.
Nova Scotia
Atlantic pricing, and the distance factor when a case needs a specialist.
All provinces →
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and the rest, plus the full procedure index.
Where these numbers come from
Most pet-cost pages a Canadian finds in search are American, and quietly so — US figures in US dollars, presented as though they applied here. That is the problem this site was built to fix, and the reason we publish the method rather than just the number.
The per-province baseline comes from Veterinary care across Canada: Average provincial fees (Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2018), which draws on the CVMA's provincial economic surveys — peer-reviewed, public, and the only genuinely primary per-province figure available. It is 2017 data, so we age it with Statistics Canada CPI rather than pretending it is current. Beyond the three line items that paper covers, we use Canadian journalism quoting specific clinic prices, and Canadian commercial sources clearly labelled as such. Where a figure still rests on a non-Canadian source, the page says so in plain text — that label appears on 76 pages today, and we would rather show you it than hide it.
The full methodology and every external source we cite are both published.
Canadian dollars, Canadian clinics
No converted US figures presented as local. If a number came from outside Canada, the page tells you on the line.
Ranges, not single prices
A vet bill is a quote, not a price tag. We publish the spread and what moves you within it.
Dated and re-checked
Every cost page shows when it was last reviewed, so you can see how old the number you're reading is.
When the bill is bigger than the budget
Costs are the question. Insurance is one of the answers — and not always the right one.
Knowing that a cruciate repair is $6,000 only helps if you have a plan for the $6,000. There are three: pay it, borrow it, or insure it. We cover the third honestly, including the cases where it does not pay off.
Pre-existing conditions are the single biggest reason claims are denied, and the definitions differ sharply between insurers. If your vet noted a limp, a heart murmur or a skin flare-up before the policy started — or during the waiting period — that body system can be excluded for life. The payout cap matters more than the monthly price: a $5,000 annual limit against a $12,000 emergency leaves you finding $7,000. And some of the most heavily marketed brands you will meet searching from Canada are licensed only for US customers.
Is pet insurance worth it in Canada?
The arithmetic, the edge cases, and when self-insuring is the better call.
How much pet insurance costs
$20–$90/month by pet — what drives premiums and how to budget for one.
Compare Canadian insurers
Side-by-side provider comparisons, with the caps and exclusions surfaced.
Provider reviews
Independent reviews of every insurer actually licensed to sell in Canada.
Explore PetAssured
Independent, Canada-only research across every part of the decision.
Vet cost price list
What common procedures actually cost in Canada in 2026 — the full index.
Dog breeds & costs
Breed-specific health risks and real cost-of-ownership budgets.
Cat guides
Cat breed and cost guides, plus the conditions that drive feline bills.
Decision guides
Costs, coverage, waiting periods, pre-existing conditions and more.
Getting a pet
The first-year budget, before the first vet visit.
Ask us a cost question
If a procedure isn't covered here yet, tell us and we'll research it.
Who writes this, and how it is paid for
PetAssured.ca is an independent Canadian publication, not a broker. We cannot sell you a policy or quote you a premium — everything here is editorial.
The editor has had seven cats, and does not have a pet right now — for exactly the reason this site exists. Anyone who has loved an animal knows the look: frightened, not understanding what is happening, turning to you because you are the one who has always made it better. To stand there knowing what would help and knowing you cannot pay for it is a particular kind of heartbreak — not only grief, but the feeling of having let down someone who trusted you completely. Veterinary care in Canada can be genuinely prohibitive, and that decision arrives in about ten minutes, on the worst day you will have with your animal. This site exists so it doesn't have to be made blind.
We earn nothing from insurers. There are no pet-insurance affiliate links here — no quote buttons, no tracking links, no commercial relationship with any provider we review. Rankings therefore cannot be bought, because nothing is for sale. The only affiliate programme we hold is Amazon, used for equipment on some cost pages and disclosed on those pages; we link no product claiming to treat, prevent or cure anything.
Across the site: 148 vet-cost guides covering all 10 provinces, 15 Canadian providers reviewed, 33 head-to-head comparisons, in English and French, with 82 cited external sources. Every cost page carries the date it was last reviewed. More about who runs this, or read the review methodology.