Hiring a Canadian veterinarian: the fastest international route to a filled DVM seat

The short answer: yes, a US clinic can hire a Canadian veterinarian, and it is the fastest international route there is. All five Canadian veterinary colleges are accredited by the AVMA Council on Education, the same body that accredits US schools. Canadian licensure requires the NAVLE, the same exam every US state requires. And veterinarian is a listed profession under the USMCA trade agreement, so a Canadian citizen with a job offer can be admitted in TN status at the border. What stands between your offer and a first shift is mostly a US state license, not an equivalency program or a new national exam.

Why Canadian veterinarians are the easiest international hire

The degree already counts. The five Canadian colleges are the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire at the Université de Montréal, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island. Because each one holds AVMA Council on Education accreditation, a US state board treats the degree the way it treats one from a US school. None of the equivalency programs that graduates of non-accredited schools go through apply.

The exam is already done. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's National Examining Board grants the Certificate of Qualification that provinces require for licensure, and for graduates of accredited schools that certificate requires passing the NAVLE. A veterinarian licensed in a Canadian province has already cleared the one national exam that gates practice in the US. Our explainer on the NAVLE covers what the exam is and why it matters to employers.

The work status is built for it. Veterinarian is one of the professions listed under the USMCA, qualifying on a DVM or a state or provincial license. USCIS confirms that Canadian citizens do not need a visa for TN status and can apply at designated US ports of entry or preclearance stations with a qualifying job offer. There is no lottery and no annual cap. Our TN visa guide for employers explains the clinic's side of it.

The pay conversation is easier than you think

Job Bank, the Government of Canada's labour market service, puts the national median wage for veterinarians at CAD $60 an hour for 2023 to 2024, roughly CAD $125,000 over a full-time year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median US veterinarian salary at $130,100 for May 2025, paid in US dollars. The figures are close before the currency difference, so a competitive US offer for your market is usually a meaningful raise for a Canadian doctor without you paying above your local range. Our veterinarian salary by state breakdown shows where your market sits.

The catch: Canada is short of veterinarians too

Canada is not a deep pool of doctors looking for work. The CVMA has called the country's veterinary workforce shortage severe, citing federal projections of about 5,000 job openings for veterinarians against about 4,300 job seekers through 2031. Canadian veterinarians have options at home.

That shapes how you should think about Canada. It is the fastest international lane, not the biggest one. The Canadian doctors who do move south tend to move for a specific reason: a region they want to live in, a caseload they cannot get at home, a partner's career, or a clinic that sold them on its culture. The clinics that land them are the ones with a clear story about the job, not the ones with the largest signing bonus.

Where a Canadian hire fits in your staffing plan

Think of a Canadian veterinarian as the right candidate for a seat that needs to be filled well and soon, when the doctor you want wants something your practice genuinely offers. For volume, the larger international pool is Mexico, where graduates of the AVMA-accredited UNAM program sit the same NAVLE and use the same TN category, with a longer runway before the first shift. Many practices will use both: a Canadian doctor for the seat that cannot wait, and a Mexican doctor for the next opening. Our guide to hiring an international veterinarian compares the routes side by side.

Either way, the question that decides the real cost of a hire is how long the doctor stays. A veterinarian who relocated across a border for your practice is not fielding calls from the clinic across town, and that changes the math on turnover. Our breakdown of recruiters, relief agencies and international placement covers how the models compare.

What VetBridge USA handles

VetBridge USA sources licensed veterinarians from Canada and Mexico for independent US practices, matches them to your opening, and coordinates the US state licensing and TN process end to end so your team is not learning immigration paperwork on the job. You interview and you decide who you hire.

Sources

Accreditation of the five Canadian veterinary colleges comes from the AVMA Council on Education and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. The NAVLE requirement for the NEB Certificate of Qualification comes from the CVMA's National Examining Board. TN eligibility for veterinarians and port-of-entry processing for Canadian citizens come from USCIS, TN USMCA Professionals. The Canadian median wage comes from Job Bank, Government of Canada, wages for veterinarians (NOC 31103), 2023 to 2024. The US median salary comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025. Canadian workforce projections come from the CVMA's veterinary workforce shortage policy work, citing Employment and Social Development Canada's Canadian Occupational Projection System.