UPDATE: [May 25, 2026] – [The press release has been updated with new information at the bottom.]
Fredericton, New Brunswick, May 14, 2026 — A new radio and digital ad campaign is calling on New Brunswickers to help save the province’s public veterinarians before critical services are eliminated and privatized.
Launched by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the campaign is asking the question the Holt government still has not answered: when public veterinarians are cut, who replaces the experts?
“The government is treating this like a line item, but these services are part of the infrastructure that keeps farms operating, animals healthy, and food safe,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “You do not notice an animal welfare system when it is working. You notice it when it is gone.”
The ads highlight the government’s choice to cut public veterinary services that cost roughly $4 million a year, despite spending $1.5 billion on outside contracts. PIPSC says the cuts will drive up costs, create gaps in animal care, and disrupt the food chain.
“This is not fiscal responsibility. It is a choice,” said O’Reilly. “The province is risking a service that protects farmers, farm animals, consumers, trade, and rural communities, while offering no published continuity plan that answers basic questions.”
PIPSC is calling on Premier Susan Holt, Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Pat Finnigan, and other responsible ministers to meet with New Brunswick’s public veterinarians before the services are dismantled.
“If the government believes there is a safe and workable replacement plan, it should be willing to sit down with the veterinarians, share the details, and answer basic questions,” said O’Reilly. “Like what happens at 2 a.m. in January when a farmer in a remote community has a sick animal and there is no public veterinarian to call?”
New Brunswick’s agriculture sector represents approximately $1.2 billion in farm cash receipts, supports 13,000 jobs, and exports to 74 countries. The campaign urges New Brunswickers to tell their MLAs to save public veterinarians, protect food safety, and stand with the farmers and rural communities who depend on timely, coordinated veterinary care.
PIPSC continues to actively push back against the New Brunswick government’s plan to privatize public veterinary services. Since launching our campaign on May 11, we have escalated efforts across multiple fronts, including a coordinated ad campaign with province-wide radio and social media, and an “email your MLA” action that has generated 618 English-language submissions to date. We’ve also strengthened alliances through participation in a rally organized by the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick (with Atlantic Regional VP participation) and by investing in the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick’s “Save Our Vets” campaign. In addition, we continue targeted lobbying efforts with key decision-makers, including the Premier, Deputy Premier, and Ministers of Agriculture and Economic Development.
On the member and representation side, our bargaining team continues to meet with members and engage the employer on transition issues, and has formally requested a consultation process outside of the collective agreement framework. We have also issued two press releases and secured media coverage through interviews with VP Eva Henshaw and VP Katie Francis. Across all channels, we are making clear that these cuts put public service jobs at risk, harm local agricultural communities, and set a troubling precedent for privatizing essential public services. We remain firmly committed to ensuring veterinary services stay public, accessible, and properly supported.
PIPSC represents over 80,000 public-sector professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government. Follow us on Facebook, on Bluesky and on Instagram.
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For more information: PIPSC Media Relations, 613-883-4900 (mobile), media@pipsc.ca
