Veterinary care has become significantly more expensive across Canada- this is a major reason why
Your local, small vet clinic might now be owned by a large corporation whose goal is to maximize shareholder profits, over providing quality care for fair market prices. Monopolies are bad folks.
Have you noticed the cost of taking your pet to the vet has jumped significantly in recent years? I sure have and lots of people I know have noticed the same. Of course, inflation has affected the veterinary care industry like all the rest, but also SO MANY small, local clinics have been bought out by large corporations (VCA, Vet Strategy, etc.) in the past few years. The clinic might look the same, have the same staff and may not advertise the change, but the ownership may have changed. You might be taking your pet to see the same vet you always have, and that vet may no longer have any say over the pricing. Most vet clinics are businesses, not non-profits but the switch to corporate ownership means a move to "extract value" from the business via charging you a lot more for your pet's care. CBC has recently done a Marketplace investigation into this available on CBC Gem and YouTube. They also have a tool available online to see who owns the clinic you take your pets to. I was surprised to find the small, local clinic I've taken my pets to for the past decade is now owned by Vet Strategy. This is not great, especially if local competition is eliminated by these growing monopolies.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/marketplace/marketplace-vet-corporate-ownership-1.7438239
https://www.cbc.ca/news/marketplace/cause-for-paws-the-rising-cost-of-pet-care-1.7438275