Job prospects Veterinarian in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "veterinarian" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be very good for Veterinarians (NOC 31103) in Ontario for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• The majority of these professionals work in veterinary services
• Self-employment is relatively high in this profession

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Favourable levels of consumer spending on veterinary and related services, and a growing pet population
• Opportunities to support biosecurity and livestock disease prevention
• The use of telemedicine technologies under certain circumstances is expected to expand business prospects

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• The College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) regulates this profession, which means candidates must be licensed by the College to practise veterinary medicine in the province.

Here are some key facts about Veterinarians in Ontario:

• Approximately 5,550 people work in this occupation.
• Veterinarians mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other professional, scientific and technical services (NAICS 5414, 5416-5419): 91%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 86% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 14% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 75% of veterinarians work all year, while 25% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 42% of veterinarians are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 35% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 65% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: n/a
  • bachelor's degree: n/a
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: more than 95% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "veterinarian" in Ontario or across Canada.

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