Under Canada's medically important antimicrobials prescription rules, every medically important antimicrobial (MIA) for veterinary use has been prescription only since December 1, 2018. Health Canada moved the MIAs that used to be sold over the counter onto the Prescription Drug List, took growth promotion claims off their labels, and made veterinary oversight the gate for their use.
Most people think of this as a farm rule. It isn't only that. It reaches the cat with a urinary infection and the dog with a hot spot, too. This summary covers what Health Canada's rules say, who can sell an MIA and to whom, the related 2017 changes on active ingredients and personal imports, and the practical steps for a small animal clinic. Provincial dispensing rules apply as well, so check with your regulator.
What the medically important antimicrobials prescription rules changed
The rules made every MIA prescription only and stripped growth promotion from the labels. Health Canada's stated aim is to keep MIAs working and to minimise the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
In practice, products once sold over the counter went onto the Prescription Drug List and are now sold and distributed like any other veterinary prescription drug. MIA labels can no longer carry growth promotion claims, and in food-producing animals, MIAs should only be used to treat or prevent disease. All in-feed and in-water MIAs now carry responsible use statements and a prescription symbol on the label.
Health Canada also sorts antimicrobials into four categories by their importance in human medicine. Categories I, II and III are the medically important ones, and they carry antimicrobial resistance warnings.
Since December 1, 2018, every medically important antimicrobial for veterinary use in Canada is prescription only, for farm and companion animals alike.
Who can sell an MIA, and to whom
Vets and pharmacists sell to owners with a prescription; drug companies sell to vets and pharmacists, not to owners or stores. The full picture:
| Seller | May sell to | May not sell to |
|---|---|---|
| Drug companies | Pharmacists, veterinarians, other manufacturers, wholesalers | Animal owners; retail stores such as feed or farm supply stores |
| Veterinarians and pharmacists | Animal owners with a prescription | Retail stores |
| Commercial feed mills | Medicated feed to end users with a prescription | DIN drug premixes to end users, except where a province authorises it |
For owners, it's simple. To buy a prescription drug for an animal, they first need a prescription from their vet, and they can't give or sell it to anyone else. Health Canada notes that selling prescription drugs is a shared authority, and that some provinces, such as Quebec with its permit regime, authorise other facilities to sell them.
The 2017 changes on ingredients, imports and sales reporting
Amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations published on May 17, 2017 tightened oversight in four places. The first concerns active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). From May 17, 2018, anyone who fabricates, imports, packages, labels or tests veterinary APIs needs good manufacturing practices and a drug establishment licence, and that covers pharmacists, veterinarians or people compounding under a vet's supervision who import MIAs on List A.
The second limits personal (own use) importation of drugs for food-producing animals to those on List B. The third requires annual sales reports for List A MIAs from manufacturers, importers and compounders. And the fourth gave veterinary health products their own lower-risk pathway, List C.
For a companion animal clinic, the API rule is the one most likely to bite. Compounding from an imported List A active ingredient brings licensing obligations.
What it means for a companion animal clinic
It means every MIA starts with a vet's assessment. Health Canada describes veterinary oversight as a key part of antimicrobial stewardship: vets have the training to assess and diagnose disease, decide whether an antimicrobial is needed and prescribe the right treatment. In Ontario, prescribing happens within a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, which the College of Veterinarians of Ontario sets out in its VCPR standard.
Day to day, that comes down to a few habits. Prescribe only within a VCPR, after an assessment, and note your reasoning in the chart. Record the drug, strength, dose and quantity, as Ontario's Regulation 1093 requires for every treatment. Treat refill requests as prescriptions a vet reviews, not as retail sales. Explain to owners why an antibiotic may not be needed, or why finishing the course matters. And check before compounding from an imported active ingredient.
It's worth writing down a clinic policy too: who can authorise a refill, how long a prescription stays valid in your practice, when a recheck is needed before another course, and how the reasoning goes in the chart. A shared policy keeps answers consistent across vets and shifts, and makes an inspection or a client complaint much easier to handle.
Talking to clients about antibiotics
Sooner or later someone calls asking for "the same antibiotic as last time", or walks in with something they bought elsewhere. Health Canada's framing helps here. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the drugs that treat bacterial infections in both people and animals, and a vet's assessment is how the right drug, or no drug, gets chosen.
A short, consistent script at the front desk saves a lot of arguments. Our veterinary receptionist phone script has wording for refill calls.
Keeping prescribing tidy in your software
In PetGrid, prescriptions are issued, dispensed, labelled and refilled from the patient's chart, and stock comes down as you dispense. Team roles keep prescribing with licensed vets, and every change to a record keeps the name of who made it. Owners ask for refills in the free app, and the request reaches your team for a vet to review; the client app page shows how that looks to owners.
Questions people ask
Do medically important antimicrobials need a prescription in Canada?
Yes. Since December 1, 2018, all medically important antimicrobials for veterinary use are sold by prescription only, companion animals included.
What are medically important antimicrobials?
They're the antimicrobials Health Canada places in Categories I, II and III of its four categories ranked by importance in human medicine. These carry antimicrobial resistance warnings on their labels.
Can a pet owner buy antibiotics without a vet prescription in Canada?
Not medically important ones. Health Canada says an owner first needs a prescription from their veterinarian, and then a vet or pharmacist can sell the drug.
Can owners import veterinary drugs for their own animals?
Personal importation of drugs for food-producing animals is limited to products on Health Canada's List B. Clinics importing List A active ingredients for compounding need a drug establishment licence.
Why did Health Canada make MIAs prescription only?
To keep these drugs working and reduce the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance, with veterinarians deciding when an antimicrobial is needed.
The short version
The medically important antimicrobials prescription rules put a vet between every MIA and every animal in Canada, with tighter oversight of active ingredients, imports and sales. For a clinic, that means prescribing within a VCPR, recording every drug and dose, treating refills as prescriptions, and taking a minute to explain stewardship to clients.
Want to see how PetGrid keeps prescriptions, dispensing and refill requests in the chart? Book a demo with the PetGrid team.
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