Moving Pets Long Distance: A Dog or Cat Across the Country

Moving pets long distance across Canada comes down to three options: drive together, fly with your pet in the cabin, or fly your pet as cargo. Whether you are moving a dog or a cat across the country, the right one depends on your pet’s size, the season, and how much time you have.

The quick version. A cat or small dog that fits under an airline seat should almost always fly in-cabin with you: it is the cheapest and shortest door to door option. A large dog crosses the country best as air cargo on the most direct routing you can get, unless you have the time to drive and your dog travels well by car. The drive is the right call for pets that cannot fly, for owners moving a car anyway, and for anyone who wants to stay within arm’s reach the whole way.

Over a long distance in Canada the choice is a flight of a few hours or several days on the road. By air the pet travels on one day, in the cabin with you if it fits under the seat, or in the hold: as checked baggage on your own flight, or as cargo booked on its own. By road, Toronto to Vancouver is the four to five day drive set out in Option 3, whether you drive or a ground transport service does.

A flight needs the pet booked with the airline, a carrier or kennel that meets its rules, and for cargo a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian: Air Canada Cargo’s page for dogs and cats, read 21 October 2026, says “It is required no later than 30 days prior to the animal’s scheduled travel.” Cargo runs airport to airport, since Air Canada Cargo says door-to-door service is not available for animals and not every city it serves has a cargo facility, so the drive to the cargo terminal and the collection at the other end are part of the plan. A road move needs the days, overnight stays that accept pets, and a crate or restraint in the vehicle.

Size decides how a dog crosses Canada. A small dog in a soft-sided carrier that fits under the seat flies in the cabin with you, on the carrier sizes in Option 1. A bigger dog flies in the hold: Air Canada and WestJet each take a pet and kennel of up to 45 kg combined as checked baggage on your flight, on their pet pages read 21 October 2026, and Air Canada sends anything heavier, or a kennel over 292 cm in length, width and height added together, to Air Canada Cargo. A dog travelling without you goes as cargo.

Snub-nosed and strong breeds change that order. Air Canada keeps snub-nosed dogs out of its baggage compartment and carries strong breeds there only in a reinforced crate. WestJet, for bookings made after 4 July 2023, sends both to WestJet Cargo, a strong breed in a CR 82 crate. For these dogs the cargo desk or the road is where planning starts, and our dog transport service arranges both.

A cat that fits a soft-sided carrier under the seat flies in the cabin with you, and the move is over in a day. Air Canada and WestJet each allow one pet in the cabin per passenger, and Air Canada asks, in most cases, that the pet be at least 10 weeks old and fully weaned. WestJet’s list of snub-nosed breeds that cannot travel in its baggage compartment names seven cat breeds, the Persian, Himalayan, Exotic Shorthair, British Shorthair, Burmese, Selkirk Rex and Scottish Fold, and any mix of them, and books them through WestJet Cargo.

By road, a cat needs a crate with room for a small litter tray, set up at home days before the trip, as Option 3 describes. Two cats with one adult take planning on a flight: with one pet per passenger in the cabin, the second cat needs a second traveller or a place in the hold. Our cat transport service plans the flight or the drive.

The best way is the one that fits the pet, and it sorts by size and breed: the cabin for a cat or small dog that fits under the seat, the hold on a direct flight for a bigger dog, and the road for a snub-nosed breed, a pet an airline will not take, or an owner who is driving anyway. Then the calendar has its say. Winter and the holiday weeks close some of the hold space, as the seasons section below sets out, so a move between November and March is planned around them first. And the route: a direct flight between two cities with cargo facilities is simpler than one where the last stretch goes by road.

Here is how to think through each one properly, because the details decide whether the trip is calm or stressful.

A move between provinces needs no CFIA export certificate, because nothing is leaving the country, and crossing from Ontario to British Columbia is not like crossing a border. What applies instead is provincial. Ontario, for example, requires a dog or cat to be vaccinated against rabies from three months old and says plainly that indoor pets are included. Check the destination province before booking the vet, not after. Airlines add rules on top: they set their own requirements for carriers, crates, and sometimes a recent health certificate for cargo travel. So the paperwork question has two halves, the destination province and the airline, and the second is one we check for every move we plan.

Two things are still worth doing regardless of how you travel. Make sure your pet’s microchip registration and tags show your new address and a mobile number that will work during the move. And carry your pet’s vaccination records with you: veterinarians, boarding facilities and some hotels along the way will ask.

Air Canada and WestJet each publish a carrier size. Air Canada’s general limit is 40 cm wide, 43 cm long and 20 cm high, with exceptions on some aircraft, and WestJet’s is 41 cm long, 21.5 cm high and 25.4 cm wide. Air Canada and WestJet each charge a flat fee per direction for an in-cabin pet on domestic flights, which makes a cross-country flight the cheapest way to move a small pet by a wide margin. A Toronto to Vancouver flight is about five hours, so the whole move fits inside a single day. Compare that with four days of driving and the case makes itself.

The planning points that matter:

Dogs too big for the cabin travel in the hold as manifested cargo. This is the part of pet travel that owners fear most and understand least, so it is worth saying plainly: cargo is how large dogs cross this country every week, and done properly it is a safe, routine operation. Air Canada Cargo says the holds on its aircraft are pressurized and that most of them also have temperature-controlled compartments, and that where temperature control is needed but not available on the route booked, the booking agent suggests a different route or an alternate travel date. Air Canada publishes its winter rules by aircraft and temperature. From 1 November to 31 March, and whenever it is 0 °C or below, it accepts no cats or dogs under 4.5 kg in the baggage compartment of any of its aircraft and advises against animals as checked baggage on its Airbus A319, A320 and A321, whose cargo compartment is not heated. From November to March its Boeing 737 MAX 8 takes no cats or dogs in the baggage compartment at all.

What it costs. Air Canada Cargo’s charges and fees page, read 15 September 2026, says to contact a local sales representative for a quote on dogs and cats travelling within North America. Its AC Animals page for dogs and cats, read the same day, says pricing is one-way only and varies based on origin, destination and dimensional weight. For the crate itself, our pet shipping cost calculator gives the retail price by size. The crate size, not your dog’s weight, is what drives the fee, which is why an oversized crate is an expensive mistake and an undersized one is an unsafe one. The right crate lets your dog stand without crouching, turn around, and lie down flat.

What matters more than price:

Our guide to pet air transport goes further into how the cabin and the hold compare, and into private charter.

For the full picture of what drives the numbers, our Canadian pet shipping cost guide breaks down every charge on this kind of move, and our pet shipping cost calculator itemizes the government fees route by route.

Canada is wide. Toronto to Vancouver is roughly 4,400 km, which means about four to five days of real driving with a pet in the car. That is the main cost of driving: not money, but time and planning. It is also the only option where your pet never leaves your sight, which for anxious animals, seniors on medication, snub-nosed breeds and pets that airlines will not accept is worth every kilometre.

How to do it well:

Going by road does not have to mean driving yourself. A professional ground service covers the same distance in a climate-controlled vehicle, and it is often the better answer for a snub-nosed breed or a pet an airline will not accept. Our guide to ground pet transport in Canada covers how those services work, what they cost and when the road beats flying.

Timing a cross-country pet move in Canada means respecting two windows. In winter there are two constraints. Air Canada Cargo says that from 1 November to 31 March it does not accept warm-blooded animals as cargo on some of its narrowbody fleet, because their cargo holds are not heated. Air Canada also accepts no pets as checked baggage or cargo over the holiday weeks of late December and early January, on dates its passenger and cargo pages state differently. Prairie driving conditions can close highways outright. In summer, July and August heat can restrict midday cargo departures. The safest travel months for most cross-country moves are spring and fall; in summer we book morning flights, and in winter we plan around the forecast and choose routings with short ground time. Our guide to winter pet shipping in Canada covers the cold-weather side in detail.

Puppies and kittens travel best after 12 weeks, with vaccinations underway and enough body weight to regulate temperature. Senior pets deserve a vet check before any long trip, whichever option you choose, and a conversation about whether flying or driving will be easier on them. Multiple pets change the math: two cargo crates can make a professional ground move cost-competitive with flying, and two in-cabin pets usually means two adult passengers, since each traveller can bring only one carrier. Pets travelling without you can move as unaccompanied cargo, which is exactly the situation where a coordinator who tracks the flight, confirms the handoffs and meets the arrival earns their fee.

Then plan the arrival as carefully as the departure. If your pet flies as cargo, know who is collecting them and where. Have a quiet room ready with familiar bedding, water and, for a cat, a litter tray, so your pet has somewhere calm to decompress for the first day or two.

Moving day at the old home is its own risk, with doors open while boxes go out. Keep the pet in a closed room with its bed and water, or with a friend or a boarding kennel for the day, and pack its kit last: food, medication, records, leash and, for a cat, the litter.

At the new home the quiet room comes first. Then the paperwork that follows the address: the microchip registration and the tag, a new veterinarian with your pet’s records sent across, and the city’s licence. Toronto, for example, says on its pet licensing page, read 21 October 2026, that every dog and cat owned in the city must be licensed and wear a tag, renewed every year.

Not a CFIA export certificate, because nothing is leaving the country. What applies instead is provincial: Ontario, for example, requires a dog or cat to be vaccinated against rabies from three months old, indoor pets included, so check the destination province before booking the vet. The airline sets its own rules, and some require a recent health certificate for cargo travel, so confirm the carrier’s requirements in writing before you book.

For a small pet, flying in the cabin for the airline’s fee per direction is cheapest by far. For a large dog, comparing direct cargo routings usually beats both a multi-day drive with hotels and fuel, and a professional ground transport. Cheapest is not always best for the animal, though: the calmest option for your specific pet is worth a modest premium.

Cargo sounds frightening, and it is normal to worry. Air Canada Cargo says the holds on its aircraft are pressurized and that most of them also have temperature-controlled compartments, and that where temperature control is needed but not available on the route booked, the booking agent suggests a different route or an alternate travel date. The real risks are heat, cold and connections, which is why direct flights, the right season and a properly fitted crate matter more than anything else.

Four weeks is comfortable for a straightforward domestic move. Add more if you are travelling in midsummer or midwinter, if your dog is a snub-nosed breed with limited routing options, or if pet spots on your preferred flight are scarce.

Yes. A pet travelling without its owner flies as cargo between Canadian cities. If you cannot travel with your pet, this is where professional coordination helps most: request a quote and we will plan the routing, the crate and both airport handoffs, and keep you updated the whole way.

For a long distance move, flying is usually the practical choice: a Toronto to Vancouver flight is about five hours, against roughly 4,400 km and four to five days on the road. Driving suits a pet an airline will not take, such as a snub-nosed breed, a pet that travels calmly by car, and an owner who is moving a car anyway. A service can book the flight and the crate, or a ground transport, for you.

By its size. A small dog in a soft-sided carrier that fits under the seat flies in the cabin with you. A bigger dog flies in the hold, as checked baggage on your flight with Air Canada or WestJet up to 45 kg with its kennel, or as cargo, which is also how a dog travels without you. A snub-nosed or strong breed starts with the cargo desk or the road, because both airlines limit them in the baggage compartment.

In the cabin, if the cat fits a soft-sided carrier under the seat. Air Canada and WestJet each allow one pet in the cabin per passenger, so two cats need two travellers or a place in the hold, and WestJet books its listed snub-nosed breeds, the Persian among them, through WestJet Cargo. By road, set up a crate with room for a small litter tray at home days before the trip.

Yes. Air Canada will not take a snub-nosed dog in its baggage compartment. Ground transport is usually the safer option.

Handing the move to a service makes the most sense when the timing is tight, when the airline and crate rules are more than you want to work through, or when your pet is a snub-nosed breed whose route has to be planned around airline restrictions.

Our pet transport services page sets out how a move is planned between provinces, to the United States or overseas, with the ways a pet can fly, CFIA endorsement and winter limits by aircraft.

We plan cross-country pet moves from every major Canadian city, including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax. Tell us the route, the breed and roughly when you want to travel: request a quote and we will reply with a plan, a price and clear next steps.

Checked August 2026; the Air Canada, Air Canada Cargo and WestJet pages and Toronto’s pet licensing page read on 21 October 2026.

Moving to or from Canada rather than within it? Once a border is involved, the paperwork is set by the destination. Our guide to the CFIA pet export certification covers leaving Canada, and our guide to moving to Canada with a pet covers the way in.