Struggling with high pet med costs? Canada's competition watchdog calls for more choice and affordable options

As a pet owner and technician in emergency veterinary medicine, Denise Angus knows the importance of access to affordable care. 

Her first pet, Mattie, a miniature doberman pinscher, had Cushing's disease, with medication that cost $400 a month. 

Angus lost Mattie in 2017 and began a pet rescue and shelter in Toronto called Mattie's Place that now helps 150 animals a year.

Given her experience, Angus is welcoming this week's push by Canada's Competition Bureau to make pet medicines more affordable for owners.

"Having access to more cost-efficient pet medication would absolutely be impactful for pet owners," she said. 

Angus said many of the rescued pets at Mattie's Place have medical needs and she's been able to treat them thanks to help from veterinarians.  

"The veterinarians I partner with for the rescue initiative offer rescue discounts which helps with costs and they are also willing to write a prescription to have a medication filled at a human pharmacy if it is a medication that can be found in human pharmacies, and often there is a cost savings." 

In a report Tuesday, Canada's Competition Bureau said that Canadians should have more choice for where they get pet prescriptions filled and that owners should be able to buy affordable medications for their furry companions at any pharmacy they choose. 

"As costs for pet care have increased, Canadians are concerned about affordability and availability of services," Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a release.

"Mandating the supply of pet medications to pharmacists would improve competition."

Owners struggle to afford pet care

The competition bureau report shines a light on the post-pandemic aftershock of pet ownership and the stress of associated costs. 

Ontario's Veterinary Medical Association says owning a pet now costs $4,000 a year for a dog and nearly as much for a cat. Much of that cost is for routine medications. 

According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute, more than half of Canadian households own a pet. There are 16 million dogs and cats in this country and one in five owners say they need preventative care for their animal but can't afford it. 

Regulations for distributing veterinary medicines vary across Canada.

Quebec's regulatory body does allow for pharmacists to dispense pet meds, but that's not the case in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where regulatory bodies prohibit veterinarians from reselling medicine. 

In its report, the Competition Bureau is also calling out pharmaceutical companies for "exclusive selling" to veterinarians. 

"The bureau has heard … that there is a widespread business practice in Canada of 'exclusive distribution' [where] pharmaceutical manufacturers will only sell to distributors, and contracts usually require that distributors — which are largely veterinary-owned — only sell to veterinarians." 

The majority of vets in Canada buy their medicines through distributors that are veterinary-owned co-operatives, including the Veterinary Purchasing Company Ltd. in Ontario and the Western Drug Distribution Centre in the west. In Quebec, the main distributor is CDMV, whichnis mainly owned by the government of Quebec.

Wendy Chui, a Toronto pharmacist who owns a bricks-and-mortar pharmacy called Canada Chemist, has been fighting this practice for more than a decade. 

Chui also owns Pets Drug Mart, one of the few online pet pharmacies in Canada. She said her prices are routinely 40 per cent lower than veterinary offices, but she's struggled with getting a supply.  

Prior to this year, she said, she was forced to broker deals with vets just to stock her shelves. 

In 2023, she filed a formal complaint with the Competition Bureau outlining her struggle. 

"I felt fair market competition was not in place and people's access was totally eliminated if my vet suppliers were shut down," she told CBC earlier this year. 

Call for regulatory changes

Chiu said this week that she is "delighted" the Competition Bureau supports mandating the supply of pet medications to pet pharmacies to address the "exclusive distribution practices" the bureau identified between veterinary manufacturers and veterinarians.  

Chui, who currently receives the majority of her pet medicines from the Quebec-based distributor CDMV, along with some supply directly from manufacturers, is also calling for regulatory changes that would enable her to have greater access to more products and pharmaceuticals. 

"Without regulatory changes, other pet pharmacies — unless based in Quebec — may still encounter significant challenges in obtaining authorized supply," she said.

Pet medication costs can vary noticeably between veterinarians and human or online pharmacies.

CBC looked at a common flea and tick medication prescribed to most dog owners and found a difference of more than $100 for a six-month supply. Through a vet, Simparica Trio cost $325, compared to $225 with shipping, through an online pharmacy.  

Another routine ointment for a dog skin irritation — 15 grams of Isaderm Gel — cost  $41.64 from a vet and $26.37 from an online distributor. 

Pet owners in the United States, and many other countries, can buy pet meds from large companies like Chewy, Walmart and Costco, both online and in a store. 

The recommendations in the Competition Bureau's report could lead to Canadians accessing the same convenience. The bureau has asked provinces and territories to act, calling on them to mandate the supply of pet medications to pharmacists. 

Dr. Tim Arthur, president of the Canadian Veterinary Medicine Association, said in an interview that there are benefits and concerns with the Competition Bureau report. 

He said that broader access to pet medications would be a benefit especially for patients who live in remote or rural settings, which require a long drive to see a veterinarian for a prescription. He also emphasized that in Canada, veterinarians are very aware of rising costs. 

"I can say that most very expensive long-term medications usually do not have the markups on them that less expensive drugs do. Veterinarians recognize that the cost of veterinary medicine is high." 

• Do you have a story about your experience as a pet owner accessing affordable pet meds or veterinary care? CBC wants to hear from you. Please email lisa.ellenwood@cbc.ca.