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Council Elections

Serving on Council is an opportunity to play a leadership role in veterinary regulation. The success of regulation is a result of the contributions of those who seek election to Council.

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College Council

The Council is the College’s board of directors. It is composed of 13 veterinarians and up to five public members. The veterinarians on Council are elected by their peers through a regional election process. The public members are appointed by government. All Council members share the responsibility of fulfilling the College’s statutory mandate to regulate the veterinary profession in the public interest.

Council members contribute their expertise, judgment and experience gained through their professional experiences. Council members participate in the College’s work in committees and contribute to the development of policies and programs. Council and Committee members serve the veterinary profession in the public interest.

Nomination Process

To be a candidate, a licensed member must be nominated by two licensed members who are eligible to vote in the electoral district. The nomination process is conducted online through a secure portal.

Nominee Support – Understanding the College Commitment

The College is committed to helping candidates understand clearly what is involved with serving on Council. Viewing the video series, “Understanding the College Commitment,” is mandatory for all Council candidates. The two videos cover the role of a councillor, the concept of public interest, the work of Council, the Code of Conduct, and the time commitment and compensation. The video below, Understanding the College Commitment, provides a broad overview of role and provides a helpful introduction.

Play video

Council Election FAQs

Council meets in-person four times a year, at the College office in Guelph. Meetings are usually held in March, June, September and December. Meetings are open to the public and the agenda materials are posted on an online portal that is used by Council and Committee members. You can expect to spend approximately four hours reviewing meeting materials to prepare for Council deliberations. If elected, you will also be asked to attend every Council meeting and participate on Discipline Panels and at least one Committee. You will also be asked to participate in Council and committee orientation and ongoing education sessions

Your first Council meeting following the election is in December. You will officially join Council at that meeting.

For regular elections, the term of office is three years.

When carrying out College business, Council and committee members are reimbursed for expenses, such as travel, accommodations, and meals. There is also a per diem of $600 for each whole meeting day and $300 for a half day. Preparation time may also be claimed at $600 for Council and $300 for Committee.

Council makes decisions concerning the policies which are used in licensing veterinarians, accrediting veterinary facilities, establishing and maintaining professional and ethical standards of practice, developing quality assurance programs, and resolving situations when standards have not been met. Council’s work is guided by its strategic plan.

Once the nominations close, you can request mailing labels for all the veterinarians who are eligible to vote in your electoral district. The College does not provide candidates with e-mail addresses for veterinarians. When the election ballot is circulated to eligible voters, the College includes brief biographical information on all nominees.

The College’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Jan Robinson, is available to answer any of your questions. You can contact Jan by email at jrobinson@cvo.org.

Your experience, skills and knowledge are needed on College Council!

To be a candidate, a licensed member must be nominated by two licensed members who are entitled to vote in the election. The nominee must consent to his/her nomination, and all nomination forms must be received in the College office by the stated deadline.

You are eligible for election to the Council if, you are:

engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine in the electoral district for which they are nominated or, if the licensed member is not engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine, was, on the 90th day before the election, resident in the electoral district for which they are nominated;
not in default of payment of any fees prescribed in any regulation or by-law made under the Act;

not the subject of any current disciplinary or incapacity proceeding;
have not been found guilty of professional misconduct or serious neglect by the Discipline Committee or found to be an impaired licensed member by the Registration Committee during the six years immediately preceding the election;
are not the holder of a licence that is subject to a condition or limitation as a result of a finding from a proceeding either in Ontario or another jurisdiction;
are not the holder of a licence that has been revoked or suspended, other than for non-payment of fees, in the six years preceding the date of nomination;
have not been an employee of the College at any time during the three years immediately preceding the election;

are not a director, officer or employee of a professional association, and do not hold a similar role or function with an organization whose interests conflict with the mandate of the College;
have not been disqualified from sitting on Council under this By-law at any time during the three years immediately preceding the election;
have not been removed from a committee under this By-law for reasons related to the Council code of conduct at any time during the three years immediately preceding the election;
are not nominated in more than one electoral district; and
do not have a conflict of interest to serve as a member of Council or has agreed to remove any such conflict of interest before taking office.

Past President reflects on Council involvement

I have spent my working life as a clinician in companion animal hospitals, contributing to my community, by helping families and their special family members. For those of you doing this work, you understand the joys, as well as the stresses associated. Incredibly rewarding and satisfying, our work is as variable as the patients we see, the diseases and injuries we treat and as varied as the species we take on.

When the opportunity came up to run for CVO Council, I was asked by a number of veterinarians, why I would want to do that. The answer was simply that I felt it would be an opportunity to contribute to the profession and the patients that we care for in a different way then as a front-line clinician.

A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with a colleague who asked me about the commitment and involvement that I have had at the CVO, and she wondered how I managed the workload, and what kind of an experience it has been. I was happy to share with her my experiences. I told her that I have been very pleased with the opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing people, from various backgrounds; veterinarians, CVO staff, other regulators, leaders in the veterinary community and even government officials, who truly care about our society, the animal owners, and our patients.

I have been given the opportunity to contribute to our profession at this high level, on many different files, which has the effect of guiding and improving our profession, in everything that we do as veterinarians. This includes accreditation, licensure, animal welfare, legislative reform, compassionate regulation, veterinarian-patient-client relationships, One Health, and in my time on the Executive Committee this also included making significant changes with telemedicine, allowing veterinarians to better care for clients and patients during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I have also had the opportunity to conduct “exit interviews” with councillors whose terms were completed, and I can tell you that each veterinarian and public member reflected very positively on their experiences.

My years on the CVO Council have been rewarding and fulfilling and I certainly encourage you to consider running for Council when an election opens up in your electoral district, I am sure you will also find it to be a worthwhile experience.