Moving to Canada with a Dog: CFIA Entry Rules for 2026
Short answer (official pages, read 12 October 2026):
- One document for a pet dog of 8 months or more: a valid rabies vaccination certificate, or from a CFIA rabies-free country a Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate1.
- No quarantine, no microchip rule, no wait after the rabies shot1,5.
- Border fee: none from the United States; C$36.95 for the first dog from anywhere else7.
- Pit bull types are banned in all of Ontario and in Winnipeg: check before you choose where to live11,12.
Build your Canada checklist
Four or five answers, plus your dates if you know them.
Pet dog, 2, driving in from the US: 1 document, a valid rabies certificate · Fee: none · Next: check it is valid on arrival day.
What does a dog need to enter Canada?
Four facts decide it: the dog's age on arrival, where the trip starts, whether the owner travels with it, and whether it is your own pet. In every case the dog must look healthy on arrival1.
| Your dog on arrival | Documents |
|---|---|
| 8 months or older | A valid rabies vaccination certificate; from a rabies-free country, a Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate can replace it |
| 3 to under 8 months | The same rabies document; if the owner is not on board, also a Veterinary Certificate of Health from a vet exam in the last 72 hours |
| Under 3 months | Proof of age from a vet; if the owner is not on board, also a Veterinary Certificate of Health |
What the rabies certificate must show
- English or French, or officially translated (not by you or your family); signed and dated by a licensed vet, with the vet’s name
- The dog (age, breed, sex, colour or markings, weight, microchip or tattoo number if any) and its owner
- That the dog is vaccinated against rabies: the date, the vaccine’s trade name and serial number
- How long it is valid; with no period written, CFIA counts 1 year from the shot
- The dog was at least 3 months old at the shot
An EU pet passport counts in its place if it holds all of these.1
CFIA's rabies-free list has nine countries: Australia, Fiji, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and CFIA says the list is under review3.
Your dog's age, the days around the trip, then the rules where you settle
Your trip, step by step
- Booking10Book the dog’s place with the airline: cabin or hold
- 72 h before1Vet exam, only if under 8 months and the owner is not on board
- Departure1Carry the paper originals of every document
- Arrival1,7,8Declare the dog, show the papers, pay the CBSA fee
- First weeks13,15Licence or register the dog where you settle (below)
After arrival: the province and the city decide
- Ontario Ban11Pit bull types; Toronto and Ottawa too
- Winnipeg Ban12Same breeds; most American Bullies
- Toronto Licence13Yearly; C$25 if spayed or neutered, C$60 if not
- Ottawa Registration16Yearly; C$22 sterilised, C$42 if not
- Calgary Licence14From 3 months; C$45 or C$71 in 2026
- Vancouver Licence17Yearly; C$65
- Montréal Permit18Yearly, C$31.80; microchip, spay or neuter
- Québec Registration15With your town within 30 days
When does the commercial or puppy path apply instead?
If the dog is not your own pet staying with you, the personal list does not apply. A dog brought in for sale, adoption, fostering, a rescue group, breeding, shows, research or special training, or one changing owner even as a gift, is commercial1. Under 8 months it needs an import permit through My CFIA and a microchip4, and since 28 September 2022 no commercial dog of any age may come from a country at high risk for dog rabies1.
For a puppy, a flight that slips past the 3-month birthday changes the list. For any case the table does not cover, answer the CFIA interactive tool before you book: it decides your case, and this guide, read on the official pages on 12 October 2026, is not legal or veterinary advice.
How much are Canada's border fees for a dog?
| Fee (CBSA, as of 31 March 2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Inspection, first dog | C$36.95 |
| Inspection, each other dog in the same arrival | C$6.16 |
| Inspection, dogs arriving from the United States | No fee |
| Vaccination order, first dog (all origins, US included) | C$67.75 |
| Vaccination order, each other dog | C$36.95 |
GST or HST can apply, and CBSA raises these fees every 31 March7. An officer issues a vaccination order when a dog arrives without a valid rabies document; it comes on top of the shot itself.
Can I drive into Canada with my dog from the US?
Yes, with the same documents as at an airport. Declare the dog to the border officer; CBSA can refuse entry to, detain or confiscate an undeclared pet8. Carry the paper originals, which CFIA strongly recommends1.
On the US side, USDA says a pet dog over 8 months needs no health certificate for Canada, and the 72-hour certificate of a young dog travelling without its owner needs no USDA endorsement9. USDA also mentions a three-year rabies window; CFIA uses the validity written on the certificate, or 1 year. Follow CFIA.
What if I fly to Canada with my dog?
The airline adds its own rules to CFIA's. Air Canada takes one cat or small dog per passenger in the cabin, in a soft-sided carrier only, and refuses carriers with hard plastic windows10:
| Air Canada, one way | Cabin | Hold |
|---|---|---|
| Within Canada and to the US | CA$50 to CA$60 | CA$105 to CA$126 |
| International | CA$100 to CA$120 | CA$270 to CA$324 |
| Size or weight limit | 40 × 43 × 20 cm (most jets) | 45 kg with the kennel |
No pets travel as checked baggage or cargo from 18 December to 4 January. See our carrier backpack picks, crate guide and airline pet policies.
What happens after I arrive in Canada?
Your province and city then decide where the dog can live and what it needs; each place's rule is in the band above. The one detail the band leaves out is the list behind Ontario's ban: pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and dogs that look like them11. Read your city's page before you sign a lease; our Canada country page has the basics, and vet bills are in our expat pet insurance comparison.
What if my dog does not meet the rabies rule?
If a pet dog arrives without a valid rabies document, CFIA usually orders it removed from Canada, or orders the owner to vaccinate it within a set period at the owner's cost (plus the CBSA order fee above) and show the record to a CFIA office1. Do not plan on this path.
The medical exemption, step by step
A dog that cannot be vaccinated for a documented medical reason needs a written exemption from the National Centre for Permissions before travel1. The request holds three things:
- a completed Application for Permit to Import;
- a letter from the dog's regular vet on clinic letterhead, in English or French, stating the specific medical reason ("too old" is not enough);
- a FAVN rabies titre of at least 0.5 IU/ml, taken within the 6 months before entry and at least 30 days after a previous rabies shot, with the lab report travelling with the dog.
A dog that was never vaccinated has no titre and cannot use this exemption. A CFIA vet must inspect the dog at the first port of entry, and you book that inspection before the dog travels.
What the Veterinary Certificate of Health must show (dogs under 8 months without their owner)
It is written in English or French on clinic letterhead, signed by the licensed vet who examined the dog in the origin country during the 72 hours before arrival, with the date, time and time zone of the exam. It identifies the dog and the owner and certifies that the dog is healthy and fit to travel, was at least 8 weeks old at the exam, and was vaccinated against distemper, adenovirus type 2, parainfluenza and parvovirus at 6 weeks or older, with each vaccine's date, name, maker and lot number. An EU pet passport does not replace it1.
What the Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate must show
It is issued on the official letterhead of the government veterinary authority of the origin country and states that the dog has lived there since birth or for at least the 6 months before export, and that rabies has not occurred there in those 6 months1.
Written by the FG Team, the Furry Guardian editorial team, who keeps these border rules current.
- CFIA, Import requirements for dogs and cats
- CFIA, Bringing animals to Canada: interactive pets tool
- CFIA, Rabies-free countries
- CFIA, Commercial imports of dogs less than 8 months of age
- CFIA, Import Reference Document
- CFIA, Travelling with your dog
- CBSA, Inspections and fees
- CBSA, Bringing animals into Canada
- USDA APHIS, Pet travel from the US to Canada
- Air Canada, Travelling with pets
- Ontario, Dog Owners' Liability Act
- City of Winnipeg, Prohibited animals
- City of Toronto, Pet licensing fees
- City of Calgary, Pet licences
- Québec, Encadrement des chiens
- City of Ottawa, Pet registration fees (read via a search engine copy on 12/10), effective 1 January 2026
- City of Vancouver, Dog licences and tags (read via a search engine copy on 12/10), 2026 fee
- Ville de Montréal, Obtenir un permis pour chien
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