The high cost of living in Canada is making it difficult for some families to keep their pets and not be able to relinquish them to shelters. This has led to an increase in the use of support services such as animal food banks in many cities.

In Grey, more than 72 per cent of all adoptions in 2025 were due to financial hardship, with the inability to afford veterinary care, housing and food. Five years ago there was no waiting list for adoptions, but in the past two years there have been about 200 animals waiting to be adopted.

The SPCA in British Columbia registered nearly 800 applications in the first half of 2025, up from 906 applications in all of 2024. Ontario also reported a 16 per cent increase in applications. In January, the number of adoptions in the first six months of 2025 was up 32 per cent compared to the same period last year, which the animal protection organization described as a “record increase.”

Rising veterinary costs, the difficulty of finding suitable housing for animals and rising rents—especially in Quebec—are all contributing to what shelters are calling a “perfect storm.” In Toronto, the number of adoptions is unchanged, but the number of adoptions for food banks and free items is up significantly from April to June 2025 compared to all of 2024.

Shelters are taking in animals that have requested veterinary care before their conditions become critical, using low-cost or property-preserving programs, and avoiding law enforcement.

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