CCVO Members
Council members include the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVO) of each federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada. CVO’s are the regulatory and technical leaders in each province that represent their respective government departments.
Chief Veterinary Officers have responsibility within their jurisdictions for the protection and promotion of animal health, and prevention of animal disease, which may include primary or secondary responsibility for animal welfare, wildlife, environment, public health and food safety. By nature, animal health concerns often overlap species and jurisdictions.
The CCVO also includes guest representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada.
Dr. Stephanie Smith
Co-Chair
Saskatchewan
Chief Veterinary Officer
Stephanie graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. After graduation, she worked in mixed animal practice in central Saskatchewan and as a poultry extension veterinarian before joining the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Mary Jane Ireland
Co-Chair
Canada
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Mary Jane Ireland is the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate, Policy and Programs Branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). She is also the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Canada and the WOAH Delegate for Canada.
Secretariat
Dr. Andrea Ellis
Secretariat
Veterinary Science Advisor,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Carrie-Anne Needham
Secretariat
Program Coordinator,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Carrie-Anne was raised in the small town of Lachute, Québec, an hour north of Montréal. She moved to Ottawa in 1998 to pursue a career in the public service. She has been working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) since 2005.
Chief Veterinary Officers
Dr. Mary Vanderkop
Yukon
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Naima Jutha
Northwest Territories
Chief Veterinary Officer
Naima graduated with Distinction from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ontario in 2015. She practiced small animal veterinary medicine on Vancouver Island, British Columbia before pursuing her graduate studies through the Universities of Calgary and Guelph.
Wanda Joy
Nunavut
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Theresa Burns
British Columbia
Chief Veterinary Officer
Theresa was raised in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Over the years since her graduation from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, she has worked as a frontline veterinary practitioner with both large and small animals.
Dr. Keith Lehman
Alberta
Chief Veterinary Officer
Keith was born and raised in the Vegreville, Alberta area prior to moving onto post-secondary education. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1994 and then from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999.
TBD
Manitoba
Chief Veterinary Officer
The CCVO would like to thank Dr. Scott Zaari for his excellent contributions serving the CCVO as a valuable member from Manitoba.
Dr. Greg Worley
Ontario
Chief Veterinary Officer
Greg is a graduate of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and holds a Master of Business Administration from Ivey Business School at Western University.
Dr. Luc Bergeron
Québec
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Luc Bergeron graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal in 2001. He then worked as a large animal practitioner. In 2006, he obtained a master's degree in epidemiology from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal.
Dr. Nicole Wanamaker
Vice-Chair
New Brunswick
Chief Veterinary Office
Nicole has a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the Atlantic Veterinary College. Nicole has been a field veterinarian for the last 20 years in the New Brunswick Provincial Veterinary Service.
Dr. Wilma Schenkels
Nova Scotia
Chief Veterinary Officer
Wilma is the Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department Of Agriculture for the province of Nova Scotia. As Nova Scotia’s CVO she is responsible for a range animal health and welfare programs, operations and services, including animal disease surveillance and response and emergency planning.
Dr. Jill Wood
Prince Edward Island
Chief Veterinary Officer
Jill graduated from the Atlantic Veterinary College in 2001. She spent 19 years in private practice before joining the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture and Land as the Chief Veterinary Officer in October of 2020.
Dr. Beverly Dawe
Newfoundland and Labrador
Acting Chief Veterinary Officer
Beverly graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1989 and returned to her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador to spend several years in private practice. Beverly joined the Animal Health Division in 1995 as a regional veterinarian and began the acting role of Chief Veterinary Officer in January 2020.
Invited Guest Representatives
Mark Samadhin
Public Health Agency of Canada Representation
Director General,
Centre for Food-Borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Dr. Peter Buck
Public Health Agency of Canada Representation
Manager Senior Public Health Epidemiologist
Peter received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine as well as his Masters of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. He has worked for Health Canada, and now the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases since 1997.