The cost of bringing your furry friend to the vet varies wildly across the country.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail

Vass Bednar is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail and host of the podcast Lately. She is the executive director of McMaster University’s master of public policy program and co-author of The Big Fix.

As affordability dominates the national conversation, the federal government has pledged to “bring down costs for Canadians” but hasn’t elaborated on how. Pocketbook attention often lands on groceries, rent and gas, but there’s another essential service quietly straining household budgets: veterinary care. From coast to coast, pet owners are still being blindsided when they take their pet to the vet. Moderating animal-care pricing needs to be part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s affordability agenda.

From spaying a cat to emergency care for a dog, veterinary fees vary wildly across the country. Pet parents have no reliable way of knowing what’s “normal” when they walk into a clinic, and no real recourse when they walk out with a bill that feels punishing. That’s because – unlike human health care in Canada – veterinary care is a patchwork of unregulated pricing. And as more clinics are scooped up by corporate chains backed by U.S. private equity, costs keep rising.

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