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Vets Protect More Than Pets: CVMA launches national Behind the Care public education campaign
November 3, 2026
New campaign aims to broaden Canadians’ understanding of veterinary medicine and reveal the work happening behind everyday life
OTTAWA (November 3, 2026) — What does your breakfast have to do with a veterinarian? Probably more than you think.
Today, on One Health Day, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) launched Behind the Care, a new national public education campaign showing Canadians how veterinary medicine reaches far beyond the veterinary clinic.
Built around one simple message — Vets Protect More Than Pets — the campaign highlights the often-unseen work veterinarians do to support animal health, disease prevention, food safety, public health and environmental protection.
“Most Canadians know veterinarians as the professionals they trust to care for their pets, and that remains an essential part of the profession,” said Dr. Kathleen MacMillan, President of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. “Behind the Care invites Canadians to look further and see the many other places veterinary expertise is at work, often without us realizing it.”
The campaign launched with Before Canada Eats Breakfast: What Veterinarians Do Behind the Scenes, an interactive breakfast for students at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
Each breakfast item opened a conversation: eggs about animal health, disease surveillance and biosecurity; milk about herd health and diagnostic testing; meat about food safety and responsible antimicrobial use; honey about pollinator health, agriculture and the environment; and water about the links between environmental, animal and human health. Students also received restaurant-style “receipts” showing not only what they ate, but some of the veterinary work happening “behind the plate”.
Why One Health Day?
The launch date reflects a central idea of the campaign: the health of animals, people and the environment is interconnected. Veterinarians work across Canada in clinics, on farms, in laboratories, government, research, wildlife and public health, and throughout the food system, much of it outside public view. “One Health gives us a way to understand why the broader work of veterinarians matters,” said Dr. Dominique Charron, One Health Visiting Scholar at the University of Guelph. “The health of animals, people and the environment cannot be separated. Veterinarians work alongside farmers, scientists and public health professionals to protect all three, often in ways Canadians never see. Behind the Care helps make those connections visible through experiences people already understand.”
The One Health Day event marks the beginning of a broader national campaign. Through digital content, stories, video and future campaign activities, Behind the Care will continue to show Canadians the people, expertise and science behind veterinary medicine.
About the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association is the national and international voice for Canada’s veterinarians, providing leadership and advocacy for veterinary medicine. Visit canadianveterinarians.net to learn more.
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Mary Jelley
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