Government Relations

Establishing meaningful connections with government officials and agencies is vital to navigating today’s political and regulatory landscape. Understanding how to engage with government representatives effectively can open doors to valuable opportunities and resources. Strong government relationships can help advocate for favourable policies, ensure regulatory compliance, and influence critical decisions that impact the operations and membership of the Association.

Government relations serve as a societal tool advocating for policy changes, fostering partnerships with public sectors, and promoting progress and innovation.

It is acknowledged that not-for-profit organizations are uniquely positioned to engage in conversations to increase public understanding of issues that are pertinent to them. In the case of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), it is crucially important that they stay focused on issues directly or indirectly of significance to strategic priorities and objectives of the association.

In furtherance of the above-noted objectives, CVMA management, Council members, and members, are encouraged to advance CVMA priorities and objectives with government officials, at any level, to create dialogue, educate on issues directly affecting veterinarians in Canada, and advocate for government co-operation in the pursuance of those goals. It is also desirable in those interactions that all interested parties including sitting governments and opposition parties be included in the efforts of the CVMA.

It is also desirable that meetings be scheduled with the government representatives of both the governing and opposition parties, their designates and employees, to bring attention to the issues affecting the CVMA and to obtain answers or commitments to those issues.

In no situation should representatives of the CVMA show any partisanship or endorsement towards any political party or candidate. All communications during the process of advocacy for the CVMA must restrict itself to a level of courtesy and non-partisanship. It must always be the intent of the CVMA to create working, non-biased relationships with the government bodies involved in these efforts.

Communications should be approached in a way that strives to consider inclusivity, respect, transparency, and safety of all members.

All public statements by the CVMA on government relations will be reviewed, within two business days of the request, by CVMA Council, plus one representative of the CVMA Wellness and Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (WIDEA) Committee to ensure non-partisan advocacy.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has prepared a Government Relations Toolkit for our members which includes key messages and relevant statistics, in addition to the three recommendations the CVMA submitted to the government prior to the 2024 and 2025 Federal budgets. The toolkit has been updated in advance of the upcoming 2025 federal election:

• Recommendation #1 The federal government address workplace shortages and ensure there is a robust veterinary workforce through additional investments for projects and veterinary infrastructure.
• Recommendation #2The federal government address workplace shortages by investing in the mental health of all veterinary professionals.
• Recommendation #3 The federal government invest in ways to maintain and strengthen the availability of critical veterinary drugs in the interest of protecting public health and safety, animal health and welfare, and food safety and security.

The kit is designed to support members in advocating for the veterinary profession and emphasizing its significance to community when meeting with their local Members of Parliament.

We encourage members to use this toolkit to reach out to all candidates, across all parties, to encourage them to help advance the CVMA’s interests.

Access the toolkit here.