B.C. doubling the number of veterinarians it helps train as those in the job burn out

The British Columbia government announced Thursday it is permanently doubling the number of subsidized seats for people who want to train to become veterinarians and practise in the province.

Selina Robinson, minister of post-secondary education and future skills, said at a news conference that the government will provide $21.8 million over three years to subsidize more students from B.C. to attend the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan.

"Vets play a critical role in supporting animal health care in our agricultural sector for B.C. farmers and for B.C. ranchers, and of course for pet owners,'' Robinson said. "We recognize the need for veterinarians is growing.''

B.C. has been funding 20 seats at the university, but Robinson says the new money will allow for 40 students from the province to meet the growing demand for veterinarians, especially among farmers and ranchers in the Fraser Valley and northern B.C.

Last year the province committed $10 million to a one-time doubling of seats, but the change is now permanent.

The college has been training B.C.'s veterinarians for five decades, and Robinson says the multi-year funding boost will give students "certainty'' while addressing the need to train and retain vets in communities essential to B.C.'s food security.

Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis says the need in communities for animal doctors is clear, and the government is taking action to recruit and train more veterinarians.

Alexis said the province is also preparing a business plan for a new animal health centre in the Fraser Valley to address the increased need for veterinary care for cattle and other large animals.

"We know how crucial it is to have timely access to animal health and diagnostic services, and we saw how this was impacted during the atmospheric river event, which flooded the current plant and Animal Health Centre on the Sumas Prairie,'' Alexis said.

"A new centre will provide enhanced services in a more secure setting that veterinarians and their clients can rely on.''

High rates of burnout, lack of care

The move comes in response to veterinarians in B.C. burning out and leaving the profession, resulting in pet owners being unable to find care.

According to a survey conducted by the College of Veterinarians of B.C. in 2021, many practising vets in the province say they are heavily overworked, and there are high rates of suicide within the profession.

Nationwide, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 30 per cent of Canadian veterinarians and 50 per cent of vet technicians are in the advanced stages of burnout. 

Many rural communities have found themselves without any full-time vets at all, instead relying on locums who come in and practise a few days every month.

Dr. Adrian Walton, the owner of Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge, said when he received an email about the funding, he called his wife, who was away in Victoria.

He told the news conference that he had to stay behind while his family vacationed because he's the only veterinarian in what should be a four-vet practice.

"I really want to thank the government for extending this funding to provide us with another 40 vets a year,'' Walton said.

"I've told my wife we can probably plan a vacation in two years.''

Walton said the need for more veterinarians in the province is clear, especially in smaller communities such as Haida Gwaii and Prince George, where short staffing and few clinics have left pet owners dangerously underserved.

Right now, northern B.C. is without overnight emergency vet care after multiple veterinary clinics in Prince George announced last year they can no longer provide the service, urging people impacted to lobby the province to support more veterinary training instead.

The University of Northern British Columbia, headquartered in Prince George, says it has been in talks with the province about the possibility of developing a stand-alone veterinarian medicine program in the city in an effort to further alleviate the shortage.