Cost of Owning a Dog or Cat in Canada: Pet Cost Calculator 2026
Work out what your dog or cat costs a month, a year, in the first year and over its whole life. Put in your own prices for food, vet visits, insurance and care. The calculator adds your city's licence fee and the GST/HST you pay on top of shelf prices, and shows what households in your province spend on pets.
| Food and treats | $840 |
| Supplies, litter and toys | $300 |
| Vet visits | $200 |
| Flea, tick, worm and heartworm prevention | $250 |
| Toronto dog licence | $25 |
| HST at 13% | $207 |
| Every year | $1,822 |
| One-time costs in the first year, with HST | $1,152 |
| First year | $2,974 |
| Over 12 years | $23,013 |
Toronto dog licence, spayed or neutered: $25 a year. Check the fee on the city's website.
For comparison: households in Ontario spent an average of $852 on pets in 2023, counting every household, with a pet or without one (Statistics Canada). A household that has a pet spends more than that average.
Show the math
Every year = food and supplies × 12 + vet visits × cost a visit + prevention + insurance × 12 + grooming + boarding days × cost a day + licence + anything else, plus HST at 13% on the taxable items when your prices are before tax. Pet food is not a zero-rated grocery, so GST/HST applies to it, as it does to vet care, grooming, boarding and supplies. Insurance premiums and city licences carry no GST/HST. Adoption fees are left as entered. First year = every year + adoption, spay or neuter, microchip and starter supplies. The total over 12 years uses today's prices, without inflation or big one-off vet bills.
How this calculator works
Every year adds up the costs that repeat: food and treats, supplies and litter, vet visits (the number of visits times the cost of one), flea, tick and worm prevention, insurance, grooming, boarding or a sitter, the city licence and anything else you add. Monthly costs are multiplied by 12.
The first year adds the one-time costs on top: the adoption fee or purchase price, spaying or neutering, a microchip, and the starter kit of bed, crate or carrier, bowls, leash or litter box.
Over its life is the yearly cost times the years you expect to have your pet, plus the one-time costs once. It uses today’s prices. It does not add inflation or the large, unpredictable vet bills that come with illness, injury and old age, which are the main reason people insure.
Tax. Shelf prices in Canada are before tax. When you say your prices are before tax, the calculator adds HST in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, and GST elsewhere. It does not add provincial sales tax in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Quebec, because what that tax covers for pets differs by province. If you pay it, include it in your prices.
The prices are yours. No government publishes what one dog or cat costs, so the starting values are examples to change, not averages. The one official yardstick is Statistics Canada’s household spending survey, shown beside your result and in the table below.
Worked example: a dog and a cat in Ontario
The calculator’s example prices, with 13% HST added and no licence, insurance, grooming or boarding.
| Cost | Dog | Cat |
|---|---|---|
| Food and treats | $840 | $480 |
| Supplies, litter and toys | $300 | $360 |
| Vet visits | $200 | $100 |
| Flea, tick, worm and heartworm prevention | $250 | $100 |
| HST at 13% | $207 | $135 |
| Every year | $1,797 | $1,175 |
| Per month | $150 | $98 |
| One-time first-year costs, with HST | $1,152 | $670 |
| First year | $2,949 | $1,845 |
| Over 12 years (dog) and 15 years (cat) | $22,713 | $18,298 |
Food is the biggest regular cost for both. Insurance is the line that changes the picture most: at $50 a month it adds $600 a year, with no HST, in exchange for help with a large bill.
What households spend on pets, by province
Average spending per household in 2023, from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending. These averages include every household, with a pet or without one, so they are lower than what a pet owner spends. They are useful for comparing provinces, not as the cost of one animal.
| Province | All pet spending | Pet food and goods | Vet and other services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | $983 | $500 | $425 |
| Prince Edward Island | $882 | $512 | $295 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $866 | $443 | $349 |
| Alberta | $856 | $477 | $331 |
| New Brunswick | $852 | $452 | $336 |
| Ontario | $852 | $401 | $415 |
| British Columbia | $747 | $386 | $312 |
| Manitoba | $705 | $381 | $282 |
| Saskatchewan | $694 | $458 | $222 |
| Quebec | $537 | $308 | $192 |
| Canada | $756 | $391 | $324 |
Statistics Canada does not publish separate figures for the territories in this table. The survey’s “pet expenses” also include buying a pet, which is why the two columns on the right add up to less than the total.
Pet licence fees in Canadian cities
The yearly licence fee for a dog and a cat, from each city's own website, checked September 30, 2026. "Fixed" means spayed or neutered. Many cities charge less for seniors or low-income owners, and some fine owners whose pet is unlicensed. "No licence listed" means the city's website offers a licence for dogs only. Montreal and Laval require pets to be spayed or neutered, so they publish one price. Ottawa is missing because its fee page could not be checked.
| City | Dog licence a year | Cat licence a year |
|---|---|---|
| Barrie, ON | $67.25 once, for life | Optional: $67.25 once |
| Brampton, ON | $25 fixed, $60 not | $13 fixed, $40 not |
| Burlington, ON | $29.84 fixed, $60.88 not | Not required |
| Burnaby, BC | $49 fixed, $84 not | No licence listed |
| Calgary, AB | $45 fixed, $71 not | $22 fixed, $44 not |
| Charlottetown, PE | $15 fixed, $25 not | No licence listed |
| Edmonton, AB | $38 fixed, $78 not | $23 fixed, $78 not |
| Fredericton, NB | $10 fixed, $25 not | No licence listed |
| Gatineau, QC | $37 fixed, $48 not | $37 fixed, $48 not |
| Guelph, ON | Required, fee not published | $25 |
| Halifax, NS | $15 fixed, $50 not | No licence listed |
| Hamilton, ON | $29 fixed, $65 not | Optional tag: $20 once |
| Kitchener, ON | $40.41 fixed, $79.53 not | No licence listed |
| Laval, QC | $20 | $10 |
| London, ON | $39 fixed, $63 not | $28 fixed, $53 not |
| Markham, ON | $34.50 | $23.50 |
| Mississauga, ON | $25 fixed, $50 not | $20 fixed, $45 not |
| Moncton, NB | $10 fixed, $20 not | No licence listed |
| Montreal, QC | $31.80 | $13.60 |
| Oakville, ON | $38 fixed, $73 not | Not required |
| Oshawa, ON | $25 fixed, $50 not | $25 fixed, $50 not |
| Quebec City, QC | $39 | $13 |
| Regina, SK | $25 fixed, $100 not | $20 fixed, $100 not |
| Richmond, BC | $42 fixed, $95.50 not | No licence listed |
| Saskatoon, SK | $38 fixed, $77 not | $23.50 fixed, $52.50 not |
| St. John's, NL | $15 | Optional: $15 |
| Surrey, BC | $58 fixed, $90.50 not | No licence listed |
| Toronto, ON | $25 fixed, $60 not | $15 fixed, $50 not |
| Vancouver, BC | $68 | No licence listed |
| Vaughan, ON (2025 fees) | $25 | $25 |
| Victoria, BC (2025 fees) | $50 fixed, $60 not | No licence listed |
| Waterloo, ON | $35.35 fixed, $54.63 not | No licence listed |
| Windsor, ON | Optional: $25 | No licence listed |
| Winnipeg, MB | $41.50 fixed, $138 not | $15.75 fixed, $69 not |
Ways to keep the cost down
- Buy food in bigger bags if your pet will finish it before it goes stale. It is the largest regular cost.
- Keep up with prevention. Vaccines and parasite prevention cost far less than treating the illnesses they prevent.
- License your pet. The fee is lower for a spayed or neutered pet in most cities, and a licence gets a lost pet home faster.
- Decide on insurance early. Premiums are lowest, and fewer conditions are excluded, when a pet is young and healthy. Without insurance, an emergency fund covers the same risk. The goal savings planner shows how much a month builds it.
- Count the first year separately. Adoption, spaying or neutering, a microchip and the starter kit often cost as much as a full year of food.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a dog cost a month in Canada?
- It depends almost entirely on food, vet care and whether you insure. With the example prices in the calculator (food and treats $70 a month, supplies $25, two vet visits a year and parasite prevention), a dog in Ontario costs about $150 a month including HST, before insurance, grooming or boarding. Change the prices to yours to get your own number.
- How much does a cat cost a year?
- With the calculator's example prices (food $40 a month, litter and supplies $30, one vet visit a year and prevention), a cat in Ontario costs about $1,175 a year including HST. The first year costs more because of adoption, spaying or neutering, a microchip and a litter box and carrier.
- What do Canadians spend on pets on average?
- Statistics Canada puts average spending on pets at $756 per household in 2023. That average counts every household, including the many with no pet, so a household that has a pet spends more. It covers pet food, pet goods, buying pets, and vet and other services.
- Do I pay GST or HST on dog food and vet bills?
- Yes. Zero-rated basic groceries are food for people, so pet food is taxable, and so are vet care, grooming, boarding and pet supplies. Shelf prices in Canada are before tax, so the calculator adds GST or HST when you say your prices are before tax. Pet insurance premiums and city licence fees carry no GST/HST.
- Do I need a licence for my dog or cat?
- Most cities require a dog licence renewed every year, and many also require one for cats. It is usually cheaper for a spayed or neutered pet. Pick your city in the calculator to see its fee, or enter the fee from your city's website.
- How often does a dog need to see the vet?
- Canadian dogs saw a vet twice a year on average in 2024, and cats once, mostly for check-ups and vaccines, according to the Canadian Animal Health Institute's pet population survey. Older pets and pets with health problems go more often, and a single emergency visit can cost more than a year of routine care.
Sources
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these primary sources. Data last verified .
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