Moving towards the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario
The Veterinary Professionals Act provides a new framework for the regulation of the veterinary profession in Ontario. While the Veterinary Professionals Act has been approved, there is work to be done to propose regulations and draft by-laws to support the new legislation and the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario. Your engagement is essential as we move through the next steps. Please contact the College with your questions.
The Veterinary Professionals Act
The Veterinary Professionals Act modernizes the regulation of the veterinary profession in Ontario. The Transition Council supports the development of the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario (CVPO) by proposing regulations and determining by-laws and standards.
Transition Council reviewing regulatory concepts
Veterinary Professionals Act, 2024
Developing Regulatory Concepts
The Veterinary Professionals Act grants the Transition Council the ability to propose regulations to support the new legislation. The Transition Council is currently reviewing regulatory concepts. Once approved, these concepts will be shared for public consultation, revised and then forwarded to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness, who will develop the regulatory language.
Veterinary Technicians: Connect with the College
The Veterinary Professionals Act provides an exciting, new framework for the regulation of the veterinary profession. We want to help you stay informed. Veterinary technicians and veterinary team members who wish to receive helpful e-mails around the work of the Transition Council, upcoming consultations, timelines, and opportunities, can be added to our e-mail distribution list through the link below. Sign up today and you will be entered in a monthly draw for a $50 gift card!
Get to know the Veterinary Professionals Act
While the Veterinary Professionals Act is now law, it is not yet in full effect. The College is in the transition stage. The Transition Council is reviewing regulatory concepts and drafting by-laws for the new framework. The earliest the new model could be in place is currently estimated to be January 2026.
The College acknowledges all our partners in this process, in particular the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and the Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians whose support and collaboration were fundamental to achieving the new legislation.
The Veterinary Professionals Act represents the biggest update to the regulation of veterinary medicine in Ontario in over 30 years. The new legislation:
- enables the one profession, two professionals approach to veterinary medicine, including veterinary technicians as licensed members
- moves to an authorized activity model, similar to what is in place in human health care
- permits veterinarians to perform all authorized activities
- permits veterinary technician members to perform most authorized activities through initiation, order, or delegation
- permits veterinarians to delegate authorized activities to auxiliaries, including those who are not licensed with the College
- limits use of the titles veterinary technician, veterinary technology and registered veterinary technician to individuals who are licensed with the College
- recognizes intraprofessional (veterinarian and veterinary technician) and interprofessional (veterinary professionals and other non-veterinary animal care providers) collaboration in providing animal care
recognizes non-veterinary animal care providers, including chiropractors, pharmacists, farriers, artificial insemination technicians and other human-based practitioners who have taken additional training in animal care
FAQs on the Veterinary Professionals Act
Please contact the College's Practice Advisory Service is you have any questions. Our team of practice advisors can assist you with clear information.
To contact a Practice Advisor:
- Email practiceadvice@cvo.org
- Call 1-800-424-2856 extension 2401
The Transition Council includes members of the CVO Council, now referenced as the Legacy Council, and three Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVT), appointed by the Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians.
- Licenses veterinary technicians.
- Recognizes team-based veterinary care and acknowledges the roles of veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
- Adds requirements for quality assurance programs similar to other regulated professions.
- Enables non-veterinarians to provide care to animals using lower-risk forms of treatment.
- Streamlines the complaints and resolutions process, enabling disputes to be addressed more quickly.
- Enables a greater amount of information about a licence holder to be collected, and where appropriate, posted on the public register.
- Ensures more public representation on the College Council.
Following proclamation of the Veterinary Professionals Act, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) will be renamed the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario. This name reflects its new role in overseeing two categories of veterinary professionals within a single veterinary profession.
The College welcomes the formal quality assurance program which is part of the Veterinary Professionals Act. This aligns with the requirements for other regulated professions in Ontario.
Registered Veterinary Technicians will be licensed through the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario, which will be established when the regulations and By-Laws governing the veterinary professionals are in place.
The Veterinary Professionals Act recognizes team-based veterinary care and acknowledges the role of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Veterinary technicians will have a broad scope of practice that reflects their skills and training. Once licensed, veterinary technicians would be subject to the same quality assurance and complaints and resolutions processes as veterinarians.
The College Council adopted key principles to guide the work of the legislative reform working groups, College staff, and Council through the legislative review process.
Right Touch Regulation: Right touch regulation means utilizing the minimum regulatory approach required to achieve the desired result. The intent is to focus on identified and verified risks and simplicity in solutions.
Agility: Agility in regulation means looking forward and anticipating change. The Act intended to provide for broad authority which permits a flexible approach to actual implementation and the opportunity to refine regulatory responses over time.
Just Culture: A just culture ties discipline to an individual's intent or behavioural choices rather than the outcome of their actions. In promoting a just culture, we accept that mistakes occur. We consider both the individual and the system which gives rise to errors and seek to learn from incidents and errors.
Collaborative self-regulation: Collaboration in self-regulation is demonstrated by an approach that views the public, veterinarians, government, and others involved in the safe delivery of veterinary medicine as partners in achieving quality practice outcomes.
Risk Mitigation: Our regulatory solutions seek to mitigate risks in practice. Our processes support the measurement and evaluation of risk(s), and solutions which manage them effectively and responsibly.
Transparency: The public needs access to information to trust that profession-based regulation works effectively. Transparency includes the provision of information to the public that enhances its ability to make decisions or hold the regulator accountable. Transparency, however, must balance public protection with fairness and privacy.
For more information on legislative reform activities, please review the following reference materials.
Infographic Towards Modernization: A graphic outlines the College's progress towards modernization beginning with the early work in 2013 towards final proclamation when the College becomes the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario.
Infographic Towards Modernization
Achieving a Modern Approach to the Regulation of Veterinary Medicine in Ontario:
Achieving a Modern Approach to the Regulation of Veterinary Medicine 2018.pdf