Attn: Canadian DVMs and transplants

[Rainheart]

To my Canadian colleagues and anyone who has moved to Canada:
Can anyone give me an idea how the GP DVM climate is? Highly considering packing up and trying to move up to Canada from the US.
How is the pay in Canada?
Any recommended places to live or avoid? We aren’t city people and would like a suburban area.
If anyone here has moved from the US to Canada as a DVM, I’d love to talk to you!

Feel free to DM me if you would like. I’ve got to get out of this country.

Thank you 🙏

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[SkiOtter]

@SARdoghandler is a GP in Canada. @awesomenessity is a resident in Canada so not in GP-land but may at least know good areas to go/avoid depending on the province?
@TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo just graduated and is doing an internship in the US so also not GP-land but may also have good areas to go/avoid?

 

[awesomenessity]

As far as places to go, pretty much everywhere has decent options! Alberta is probably the most "suburban" province, and both Calgary and Edmonton are nice places to live (I've lived in both). If you're not a fan of super cold or snow, Calgary is definitely the better option of those two. Both have 24/7 emergency/referral centers, but Calgary's are much better established and have a lot more specialists.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is also a really nice city, it's definitely cold/snowy/windy though so the winters are a bit brutal. It's also home to a veterinary school that can take small and large animal referrals. There's a lot more mixed practices in this area than in Calgary/Edmonton area, if that's something that interests you! I am currently doing my residency here.

SARdines lives in Nova Scotia which is absolutely beautiful! She can tell you more about the east coast than I can

 

[SocialStigma]

I live in Ontario, everywhere is looking for GPs so you should have lots of options wherever you go. The majority of the practices in Ontario are located in the southern part of the province but there are definitely more rural locations in northern ON. Overall pay is not going to be as high as what is offered in the US though.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

I’m from British Columbia and went to school in Saskatoon. Feel free to PM me if you want more specific details since a lot of my friends were in the GP job market this year.

A lot of BC (particularly the Victoria and Vancouver areas) have an extremely high cost of living but it is a beautiful part of the county. Wages tend to be higher there because of the COL situation.

Saskatoon is kind of over saturated due to being in the same city as a vet school. There’s generally only a handful of clinics hiring at any point in time and several classmates had a bit of a tricky time finding a job they wanted there.

I know nothing about Ontario but I think salaries around Toronto are higher to again compensate for a very high COL. The only people I know there right now are in ER.

From my understanding the maritimes are having a rough time economically right now so I suspect salaries would be lower there than the more Western areas. @SARdoghandler would be better able to speak on this. The maritimes are also beautiful and it is a very different feel than the west coast.

Don’t even bother considering Quebec unless you speak French fluently lol.

Long story short jobs are available anywhere, it’s just a matter of where you want to live, what social climate you want to be in, and what type of job you want to have. Feel free to message me and I can suggest a few locations to look into based on what you are looking for.

 

[that redhead]

To my Canadian colleagues and anyone who has moved to Canada: Can anyone give me an idea how the GP DVM climate is? Highly considering packing up and trying to move up to Canada from the US.
How is the pay in Canada?
Any recommended places to live or avoid? We aren’t city people and would like a suburban area.
If anyone here has moved from the US to Canada as a DVM, I’d love to talk to you!

Feel free to DM me if you would like. I’ve got to get out of this country.

Thank you 🙏

Pretty similar to here in the US overall. Pay probably less but COL should be reflective.

I assume you’ve already begun looking into the requirements for moving to Canada, but part of that is having a job offer in hand. That would absolutely be something to discuss with potential future employers.

 

[SARdoghandler]

Yes hello hi I am a rural GP in Nova Scotia. Can provide probably just about any info you might need on being a vet in any of the Atlantic provinces.

Pay was generally lower than the rest of Canada however most jobs right now are actually being offered relatively on par with other areas in the country. Much lower COL here than the rest of Canada (though less true now than it was 2 years ago). Much slower pace of life on this coast which I love. Also I do think it's one of the most beautiful areas in Canada (I've lived many places haha). If weather is a factor, the area of Nova Scotia I live in has the next best climate in Canada after the Vancouver area.

Atlantic cities are awesome because they don't really have big city vibe. I love about an hour from Halifax and it is a very cool city. Lots of communities with that suburban feel while still being very convenient to city amenities (for example, I'm rural but only 45 minutes to Halifax) Also some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet are here on the east coast.

Absolutely happy to answer any questions you may have very candidly. Feel free to pm me

Also thanks all my frands for the tags

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Where you should go is like asking where in the US you should go...........What kind of geography/climate/community size/access are you looking for? Do you want suburban, or small town, and how close or far from a city? All areas have pros and cons, depending on what you'd like, and I suspect all areas are likely equally hurting for vets. I hate suburban areas - I either want city, or smaller towns, but not that nether-world of inbetween that tries to be a city but really isn't. In my opinion. I've been a vet in Ontario for over 20 years, and I lived in Toronto since I graduated, but I did relief work for over 15 years and lived for weeks at a time in many places all over the province. I'll answer any questions I can.

Unless you speak fluid French, though, forget Quebec.