Provinces pledge $194M to Sask. veterinary college, but capacity stays the same

Three western provinces renewed their commitment to veterinary education in a funding announcement Thursday at the University of Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba have agreed to provide a combined $194 million over the next five years to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in Saskatoon. The funding will support operations, training and clinical services.

The number of student seats at the school won't increase. Dr. Gillian Muir, the dean of WCVM, said she recognizes there is a shortage of veterinarians in Western Canada, but there's just not enough room to accept more at this time.

"We don't have any space," Muir said. "We're full up. We've got 88 spots and we have 88 students and we have a high demand for those seats."

Under the renewed agreement, Saskatchewan will fund 25 seats, Manitoba will fund 20 and British Columbia will fund 40.

WATCH | Western vet college gets $194M to keep going, but no extra training spots:

Western vet college gets $194M to keep going, but no extra training spots

18 hours ago

Duration 1:55

Amid a veterinarian shortage, the University of Saskatchewan's vet college says it doesn't have space for more students. Three provinces are renewing their agreement to fund the Western College of Veterinian Medicine for five more years at the current student level.

There will be no spaces reserved for international students. Dr. Inoka Gamage, a Saskatoon veterinarian, said that is a missed opportunity.

"There's no such program other than the continuous education programs after becoming a vet," she said. "But to get the licence here, we need some kind of bridging programs."

Gamage immigrated from Sri Lanka and now owns Fairlight Veterinary Services in Saskatoon. She said her clinic is often fully booked and forced to turn away walk-in patients unless it's an emergency.

"It's a very difficult situation," she said. "But if they walk in with a really, really sick animal, we cannot turn them around and say, 'go away.'"

Gamage said the sector is under immense pressure, with more pets, fewer vets and too few options for specialty care.

"It's hard," she said. "Sometimes you feel really down at the end of the day with all the burnout and the workload."

Gamage said a long-term fix must include expanding the number of vet school seats, building bridging programs for international graduates and growing specialty care services across Saskatchewan.

Still, for Gamage, the motivation remains the same.

"The fur babies make a difference in our life."