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From Vision to Action: A Year of Firsts for CVMA's RISE Well-being, DEI, and Accessibility Program
January 7, 2026
In 2025, under RISE, the CVMA’s Well-being, DEI & Accessibility (WIDEA) Program, the WIDEA Committee transformed ideas into action. Initiatives that didn’t exist a year ago are now bringing health, inclusion, accessibility, and support to veterinary professionals across Canada. These achievements were made possible by the dedication of our volunteer Committee members, who generously contribute their time and expertise, and by the CVMA staff who carefully bring these ideas to life. This is why the CVMA matters: every initiative is intentional, making a real difference for veterinary professionals across Canada. We are shaping the future of a healthy, inclusive, equitable, and accessible veterinary community where everyone can feel seen, heard, and able to fully participate.
2025 Highlights – A Year of Firsts
Canadian first customization of The Working Mind Course to Veterinary Medicine: A project is underway to customize the English version and include the first ever French version with recovery videos and workplace scenarios. The facilitator team grew twofold from our current facilitators, Dr. Leann Benedetti and Dr. Marie Holowaychuk to also include Lucie Langevin-Neil, RVT and our first bilingual facilitator and Dr. Rebecca Lynes. We are grateful for Petsecure’s sponsorship.
First-time Mental Health First Aid Course Offerings: We offered Mental Health First Aid training for the first time, selling out quickly and responding to demand by delivering two courses instead of one, with a waitlist of 40+ people. We are grateful for Merck Animal Health’s sponsorship.
Togetherall expansion: The 24/7/365 anonymous peer support platform with clinical oversight expanded to the entire Canadian veterinary profession and now reaches nearly 50,000 people. We are grateful for Western Financial Group sponsorship.
Canada-first Amplify Joy webpage: We launched the new Amplify Joy webpage, spotlighting real stories of veterinarians and teams finding meaning, positive emotions, and accomplishment in their work and lives. We are grateful for co.vet’s sponsorship.
Webpage Launch of VetConnect Team: Psychologists, Social Workers and Counsellors who truly get it. Our curated list of licensed mental health professionals, each with lived experience as a veterinarian or RVT, grew from 4 to 9 providers in 2025.
First-ever Canadian RACE approved DEI webinar series with Dr. Woodsworth: The first of four webinars drew 300 registrants, with 86% reporting the topic was highly relevant to their work. We are partnering with Obivet to convert the webinars into sustainable, bite-sized, self-directed RACE-approved learning modules. We are grateful for Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet sponsorship.
First-time French-language suicide awareness training: We delivered our first French-language webinars, partnering with AMVQ, AMVPQ, and the Quebec Association of Suicide Prevention. We are grateful for Merck Animal Health’s Sponsorship.
First-time CVMA and BVAC (Black Veterinary Association of Canada) collaboration: Allying together with others to introduce veterinary medicine to Black youth through a hands-on discovery day and collaborating for representation and belonging.
First-ever Canadian Cyberbullying Crisis Communication Support Line: Launched 24/7 support line with confidential expert response and website with practical tools.
Accessibility leadership: Hosted our first webinar on the Rick Hansen Foundation workplace accessibility certification and 80% of participants left with a tangible physical accessibility improvement to implement. For the first time, ASL services were provided for the keynote and select scientific sessions at the 2025 CVMA Convention in response to an accessibility request from a CVMA member. We also expanded accessibility on webinars using Wordly, offering captioning and audio in 20+ languages to create a language and mind-friendly experience, so everyone can fully participate in continuing education.
Why the CVMA Matters
These resources are made possible thanks to the dedication of CVMA members, volunteers, staff, and the generosity of our sponsors. Together, we are advancing healthy, sustainable, and meaningful careers, resilient teams, and inclusive and supportive workplaces for every veterinary professional in Canada.