Federal Dog Breeder Rules in Canada

No federal law requires dog breeders in Canada to hold a licence, permit or registration. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) states that the provinces have the primary responsibility for protecting the welfare of animals, including companion animals, and that cities and municipalities are responsible for business licensing and by-laws related to animals, including sales of animals. The CFIA's own animal welfare mandate is limited to the humane transport of animals and the humane treatment of food animals in federal abattoirs. Federal law reaches breeders through particular activities instead of a licence. Selling a dog as purebred or registered is governed by the Animal Pedigree Act. Importing a dog is governed by the Health of Animals Act and Regulations, and a commercial dog under 8 months of age (for example a puppy brought in for resale, adoption or breeding) may be imported only under a CFIA import permit (Health of Animals Regulations, s. 12(1)(a); Import Reference Document, s. 2(7)). Moving any animal, including a dog, is subject to the humane transport rules in Part XII of the Health of Animals Regulations, which apply to transport into, within and out of Canada (s. 137). The Criminal Code's animal cruelty offences (ss. 445 to 447.1) apply to everyone.

There is no federal breeder licence to apply for. Two federal processes matter to many breeders. Registration: under the Animal Pedigree Act, only one association can be incorporated for each breed, and that association's by-laws decide what counts as a purebred of the breed (Animal Pedigree Act, ss. 5(2) and 30). An animal cannot be declared purebred with less than seven-eighths of its inheritance from the breed's foundation stock or from registered purebreds (s. 30(2)). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada lists the Canadian Kennel Club as the incorporated association for most dog breeds, the Canadian Border Collie Association for the Border Collie, and the Canadian Canine Federation for six breeds, including the Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and Beauceron. For a breed that is not recognized under the Act, the Act does not limit who may keep pedigrees or call animals purebred. Imports: a commercial import of dogs under 8 months needs a single-entry CFIA import permit, applied for online through My CFIA before the dogs travel, and the importer must book the CFIA inspection at the airport or land crossing before the shipment leaves the country of origin. Under the breeding end use, the importer must show current membership in the Canadian Kennel Club or another equivalent national breed association or club in Canada, and is limited to 2 dogs per permit and 2 permits per year. Since September 28, 2022, the CFIA has not issued permits for commercial dogs of any age from countries it lists as high-risk for dog rabies. The detailed conditions for each country and purpose are published in the CFIA's Automated Import Reference System (AIRS).

There is no federal breeder licence, so there is no federal licence fee. Fees for registration certificates and transfers of ownership are set by each breed association in its by-laws, not by the federal government (Animal Pedigree Act, s. 15(1)(q)). Importers pay CFIA user fees: the CFIA's AIRS import listings for dogs state that any import inspection services provided by CFIA staff are subject to a CFIA user fee. Provincial, territorial and municipal licence fees are covered on the province and territory pages.

Federal inspection of dogs happens at the border and during transport; the care of animals on premises such as kennels is a provincial and territorial responsibility. The CFIA regulates the importation of dogs, and its veterinarians enforce the import and humane transport requirements at the border. The Canada Border Services Agency inspects animals on the CFIA's behalf and may refuse entry or refer an animal to the CFIA. Every commercial dog under 8 months must be inspected by a CFIA veterinarian at the airport or land border crossing, and an importer bringing these dogs by air must have a CFIA-approved quarantine facility within 100 km of the first port of entry (the CFIA may consider a more distant facility for breeding and show imports if there is a written contingency plan). An inspector who believes an animal was imported in contravention of the Act or Regulations can order it removed from Canada (Health of Animals Act, s. 18). The Criminal Code's cruelty offences are enforced by police services, provincial and territorial SPCAs and/or provincial and territorial ministries of agriculture. Offences under the Animal Pedigree Act are enforced by the RCMP under an agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; for complaints that depend on an association's by-laws, the breed association investigates and tries to resolve the matter first.

There is no federal record-keeping rule for breeders as such, but several federal rules require records for particular activities. Anyone who imports a dog must keep records that clearly show its original source and the date and place of importation (Health of Animals Regulations, s. 16). Commercial carriers, and anyone else who transports animals in the course of business or for financial benefit, must make a record for each shipment showing the shipper, consignee and driver, the vehicle, the floor space, when and where the vehicle or container was last cleaned and disinfected, when and where the animals were loaded, the number and description of the animals, when they were last fed, watered and rested, and their arrival at the destination, and must keep the record with the shipment (s. 154). The same people must have a contingency plan for delays and for animals that become unfit or compromised during transport (s. 138.2). Records required by the Regulations must be kept for two years unless another period is stated (s. 91.3). A person who sells a dog as registered or as a purebred must give the buyer the dog's duly transferred certificate of registration within six months after the sale, unless the seller expressly states that the registration is from outside Canada and that the dog will not be registered in Canada (Animal Pedigree Act, s. 64(j)).

Criminal Code: wilfully causing, or as the owner wilfully permitting, unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal (s. 445.1), and wilfully killing or injuring an animal kept for a lawful purpose (s. 445), are punishable on indictment by up to five years in prison, or on summary conviction by a fine of up to $10,000, up to two years less a day in jail, or both. Abandoning an animal in distress, or wilfully neglecting or failing to provide suitable and adequate food, water, shelter and care (s. 446), carries up to two years on indictment, or on summary conviction the general penalty of a fine of up to $5,000, up to two years less a day in jail, or both (s. 787). A court can also prohibit an offender from owning, having custody of, or living with an animal for any period it considers appropriate, with a minimum of five years for a second or subsequent offence, and can order the offender to repay the reasonable costs of caring for the animal (s. 447.1). Animal Pedigree Act: contravening the Act, for example offering or selling a dog as a purebred when it is not registered or eligible to be registered as a purebred by the breed's association (s. 64(h)), is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 on summary conviction or up to $50,000 on indictment, and the court must take into account the value or purported value of the animal (s. 66). Health of Animals Act: contravening the Act or Regulations, including the import and humane transport rules, is punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to $50,000, up to six months in jail, or both, or on indictment by a fine of up to $250,000, up to two years in prison, or both (s. 65). The CFIA can also issue administrative monetary penalties. For a violation committed in the course of a business or to obtain a financial benefit, the base amounts are $1,300 for a minor violation, $6,000 for a serious violation and $10,000 for a very serious violation, and serious and very serious penalties can be reduced or increased by up to 50 percent depending on history, intent or negligence, and harm; for an individual acting outside a business, the amounts are $500, $800 and $1,300 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations, s. 5 and Schedule 2). Importing an animal without a required permit, or without meeting the import requirements, is classed as a very serious violation. An animal imported in contravention of the Act can also be forfeited or ordered removed from Canada (Health of Animals Act, ss. 17 and 18).