Issue

Veterinarians and animal health technicians are not currently eligible for the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program, despite significant shortages of veterinary professionals in rural, remote and underserved communities. The exclusion of these essential professionals limits the effectiveness of the program as a rural workforce recruitment and retention tool and contributes to ongoing gaps in livestock health services, disease surveillance, emergency response capacity and animal care.

Background

The Government of Canada offers Canada Student Loan Forgiveness to borrowers who work in eligible occupations and eligible rural or underserved communities. The program is intended to improve access to essential services by reducing the federal student loan debt of professionals who commit to working in these communities.

As of December 31, 2025, eligibility was expanded beyond doctors and nurses to include dentists, dental hygienists, early childhood educators, midwives, personal support workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers and teachers . However, veterinarians and animal health technicians were not included among the newly eligible occupations. 

Under the current program, an eligible community is defined as either a rural area or a population centre with no more than 30,000 residents. Eligible borrowers must generally complete a prescribed period of employment and provide a minimum number of in-person service hours before applying for annual loan forgiveness. Benefits currently range from $15,000 to $60,000 over a maximum of five years, depending on the eligible profession . 

Rural and remote communities continue to experience difficulty recruiting and retaining veterinarians, registered veterinary technologists and other animal health professionals. These professionals provide services that are critical to:

• Preventive animal care and herd health planning
• Timely diagnosis and treatment
• Emergency veterinary services
• Disease surveillance and biosecurity
• Foreign animal disease preparedness and response
• Animal welfare
• Livestock productivity and producer viability
• Canada’s food production and food security systems

These shortages are particularly significant in livestock-producing regions such as Southeast Alberta, where the availability of large-animal veterinary services directly affects cattle producers, feedlots, livestock operations and the agricultural businesses that support them.

Veterinary professionals may graduate with significant educational debt, making the location and type of employment an important consideration when entering the workforce. Rural veterinary practices must compete with urban clinics, corporate employers and other employment opportunities when recruiting early-career professionals. Student loan forgiveness would provide an additional incentive for graduates to establish or continue their careers in rural and underserved communities.

Including veterinary professionals in the program would also recognize that access to animal health services is an essential component of rural economic sustainability. Veterinary shortages do not affect only individual animal owners. They can reduce producers’ access to preventive care, delay treatment, increase operational risk and weaken regional capacity to respond to animal health emergencies.

Recommendations

The Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Government of Canada:

1. Expand eligibility under the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program to include licensed veterinarians and appropriately credentialed animal health technicians or veterinary technologists who work in eligible rural, remote or underserved communities.
2. Establish forgiveness amounts, service requirements and maximum benefit periods that are comparable to those provided to other rural-critical professions, while reflecting the education, licensing requirements and student debt associated with veterinary careers.
3. Ensure that eligibility applies to veterinary professionals serving livestock producers and agricultural operations, including professionals working through private veterinary practices, mixed-animal practices, mobile veterinary services and other recognized rural service-delivery models.
4. Consult provincial veterinary regulators, veterinary medical associations, veterinary technologist associations, livestock organizations, rural municipalities and agricultural stakeholders when establishing program eligibility and implementation requirements.
5. Monitor the program’s effectiveness in improving the recruitment and retention of veterinary professionals in rural and underserved communities and report publicly on participation, geographic distribution and workforce outcomes.

Date Approved: October 21, 2026