VM Rates of Pay – Veterinary Medicine (Government of Canada)

About the VM Classification

The VM (Veterinary Medicine) group covers veterinarians employed by the federal government, primarily at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). VM veterinarians inspect meat processing facilities, investigate animal disease outbreaks, manage border controls for animal imports, conduct animal health surveillance, and enforce federal animal welfare standards. CFIA is by far the largest employer, with VM veterinarians stationed at slaughterhouses, border crossings, and laboratories across the country.

VM-01 covers junior veterinarians and those in supervised practice. VM-02 is the working-level veterinary inspector conducting independent inspections at processing facilities. VM-03 covers senior veterinarians, regional program leads, and specialists in areas like epidemiology or pathology. VM-04 and VM-05 are management positions overseeing veterinary programs at the regional or national level. All VM positions require a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree and licensure.

Federal veterinary work is fundamentally about protecting Canada's food supply and animal health status. VM veterinarians at CFIA inspect every federally registered meat processing plant in the country, making daily decisions about food safety that affect millions of Canadians. Disease investigation work can be high-stakes — an outbreak of avian influenza or BSE triggers coordinated federal response with significant economic consequences. VM salaries are competitive with mixed veterinary practice but well below specialty and emergency veterinary compensation. The regular hours, pension, and absence of on-call emergency work attract veterinarians who prefer structured careers over the demands of private clinical practice.

Want to know your take-home pay after taxes and deductions? Use the take-home pay calculator or compare VM with other classifications.