How to Move Pets Across Canada: Drive, Cabin or Cargo

Moving a pet across Canada comes down to three options: drive together, fly with your pet in the cabin, or fly your pet as cargo. Which one is right 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.

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

Canada does not require rabies certificates, import permits or quarantine for dogs and cats moving between provinces. Crossing from Ontario to British Columbia is not like crossing a border. The rules that do apply come from the airline, not the government: carriers set their own requirements for carriers, crates, and sometimes a recent health certificate for cargo travel, and those rules are strict. So the paperwork question is really an airline question, and it 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.

If your cat or dog plus a soft-sided carrier weighs in around 10 kg or less, most Canadian airlines will let them ride under the seat in front of you. Air Canada and WestJet each charge $50 to $60 CAD per direction for in-cabin pets within Canada, 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 pressurised, temperature-controlled 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. The hold is pressurised and heated like the cabin, and animals are loaded last and unloaded first.

What it costs. Air Canada Cargo quotes dogs and cats per shipment rather than publishing a route rate, priced on the greater of the actual or dimensional weight of animal plus crate. The crate itself runs about $150 to $400 CAD at Canadian retail depending on the size of your dog. 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:

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 itemises 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:

Timing a cross-country pet move in Canada means respecting two windows. In winter, airlines apply cold weather embargoes, roughly December through February, that can keep pets out of the hold when tarmac temperatures are dangerous, and 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.

Not from the government: there is no certificate, permit or quarantine for dogs and cats moving between Canadian provinces. 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 at $50 to $60 CAD 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. The hold is pressurised and temperature controlled like the cabin, animals are loaded last and unloaded first, and airlines route pets through trained ground staff. 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. Pets move as unaccompanied cargo between Canadian cities every day. 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.

Driving suits shorter trips and calm travellers. Flying is usually the practical choice for long distances, and a service can handle the crate and the airline booking for you.

Yes, but most airlines restrict snub-nosed breeds from the hold. Ground transport is usually the safer option. See our guide on breed restrictions.

We plan cross-country pet moves from every major Canadian city, including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary 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.

Moving between October and March? Our guide to fall and winter pet travel embargoes from Canada covers the station closures, the one-hour tender window and the CFIA timing that decide whether a booking survives the season.

Crossing into the United States by road runs on a different set of rules, and CFIA has no part in it. Our guide to driving to the United States from Canada with a pet covers the free CDC form, the microchip and age requirements, and what Canada asks for on the way home.