The conversation around integrative veterinary care in Canada has changed dramatically over the past decade. Soft tissue work and manual therapy, once treated as peripheral or even fringe offerings, have steadily moved toward the clinical mainstream as the evidence base for their effectiveness in pain management and post surgical recovery has grown more difficult to ignore. Academic training in canine rehabilitation and manual therapy is available to veterinarians, veterinary technicians and licensed physiotherapists, with graduates earning credentials ranging from Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner to Certified Veterinary Massage and Rehabilitation Therapist depending on the program.
What’s changed most is the quality and accessibility of that training on Canadian soil. The programs listed below represent the strongest in person options currently available in Canada, organized by province so practitioners can identify what’s within reach without crossing the border. The right fit will depend on your credentials, species focus and how deeply you want massage integrated into your broader clinical practice. Whether you’re a licensed veterinarian looking for a science grounded foundation or a vet tech who wants a nationally recognized certification to bring to your team, there’s a program here worth your time.
British Columbia
1. CuraCore Canada, Osteopathic Medical Massage for Small Animals (Sidney, BC)
The question most Canadian veterinary professionals ask when they start exploring medical massage is whether they can trust the science behind what they’re learning. CuraCore Canada answers that question before you’ve even registered. Every element of the curriculum, from point selection to palpation protocols, is framed through neuroanatomy, myofascial physiology and current clinical research rather than wellness tradition or energetic theory. The program’s tagline, “no woo woo, just science,” reflects the actual organizing principle behind how every technique in the course is taught and justified.
The course explores the anatomy, physiology and research foundations of osteopathic myofascial release, balanced ligamentous tension and massage through a hybrid online and in person format, with participants constructing structures in clay on canine skeletons to study myofascial relationships, practicing palpation and movement assessment, and applying hands on treatments during the onsite session. The in person component takes place at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, British Columbia, with 14 hours of online coursework followed by 24 hours of hands on training, totaling 38 RACE and NYSED approved CE hours. The course is led by Narda G. Robinson, DO, DVM, MS, CRPM, FAAMA, whose dual training as both an osteopathic physician and veterinarian is the direct source of the program’s osteopathic manual therapy emphasis.
The Sidney location matters beyond simple convenience. Having a permanent Canadian home for this program means the course is a committed fixture in the Canadian integrative veterinary education landscape, with pricing in Canadian dollars, scheduling built around Canadian practitioners and a direct line to the same faculty and standards that define CuraCore’s US programs.
Standout features:
- The only Canadian program specifically designed for licensed veterinary professionals seeking science based medical massage training
- Curriculum rooted in osteopathic manual medicine, not wellness or spa frameworks
- 38 total CE hours, RACE and NYSED approved
- Led by Narda G. Robinson, DO, DVM, the only dual credentialed osteopathic physician and veterinarian in veterinary integrative education
- In person intensive at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, BC
- Priced and scheduled for Canadian practitioners
- 35% discount available for veterinary students and technicians
- Connects directly into CuraCore Canada’s broader acupuncture and rehabilitation curriculum for practitioners building a full integrative toolkit
Alberta
2. Canadian Institute of Equine and Canine Body Works, Equinology and Caninology Certifications (Alberta, with national campuses)
CIECBW is the most geographically ambitious veterinary bodywork institution operating in Canada, running certification programs across four provinces with an expanding course calendar and a curriculum anchored to internationally recognized standards. The school serves as the Canadian delivery arm for the Equinology and Caninology certification systems, with credentials at multiple levels recognized by NCBTMB, RACE, IAAMB and the International Equine Body Workers Association. For practitioners in Alberta especially, having access to this level of credentialed bodywork education within the province is a significant advantage.
Certification requires completion of an online anatomy pre course followed by a nine day in person intensive that combines theory and hands on clinical work, with final certification earned through a supervised externship completed back in the student’s own community with ongoing school support. That externship structure is worth noting because graduates continue receiving support through their first real clinical applications rather than being released immediately after the intensive ends.
The Equinology Equine Body Worker certification runs at four Canadian campuses through 2026 and 2027: Calgary, Ashburn in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Thorsby in Alberta. Beyond the foundational certification, the continuing education curriculum extends into advanced soft tissue techniques, spinal mobilization, rehabilitation concepts, equine biomechanics, craniosacral therapy and a clay based anatomy discovery workshop. The canine side of the curriculum includes myofascial release, trigger point therapy, advanced massage, gait and biomechanics, and a new craniosacral therapy course launching in 2026. The breadth of this ecosystem makes CIECBW one of the more forward thinking bodywork institutions operating anywhere in the country.
Standout features:
- Canadian provider of internationally credentialed Equinology and Caninology certifications
- Nine day in person intensives followed by supervised community externship
- Campuses in Calgary AB, Ashburn ON, Thorsby AB and Nova Scotia, with 2026 and 2027 dates confirmed
- Credentials recognized by NCBTMB, RACE, IAAMB and IEBWA
- Both equine and canine tracks with multiple certification levels available
- Expanding CE curriculum includes craniosacral therapy, spinal mobilization, biomechanics and clay anatomy labs
- Courses available in Alberta year round, with national campuses for broader access
Ontario
3. Canis Bodyworks at AMMEC, Canine Massage Certification (Frankville, ON)
Canis Bodyworks runs its Canadian certification workshops out of the Animal Massage and Movement Education Centre in Frankville, Ontario, a converted chapel in a rural hamlet roughly an hour southwest of Ottawa that functions as one of the more unusual and genuinely pleasant places to learn animal massage in the country. The facility hosts the same curriculum and instructors as Canis Bodyworks’ US locations, offering Ontario and Quebec based practitioners full access to the certification pathway without travel to the United States.
The programs are evidence based and RACE approved, making them creditable CE for licensed veterinarians and vet techs, with small class sizes that ensure personalized instruction and a curriculum covering more than thirty CE courses across the certification track. The sequence builds methodically from trust building and foundational palpation through Swedish massage, orthopedic friction, myofascial trigger point therapy and lymphatic massage, with each workshop prerequisite to the next rather than offered as standalone modules. That progression gives students a stronger clinical foundation before advancing into subsequent coursework, which improves the quality of the hands on work considerably.
Graduates who complete the full Canis Bodyworks certification curriculum are eligible to sit for the NBCAAM national board exam, giving the credential national portability across the US and Canada rather than limiting it to a single institution’s certificate.
Standout features:
- Full NBCAAM approved certification program accessible in Ontario without US travel
- RACE approved coursework qualifying for veterinary and vet tech CE credits
- Workshops hosted at AMMEC in Frankville, conveniently located between Ottawa and Kingston
- Sequential curriculum building from foundations through advanced clinical techniques
- Covers myofascial trigger point therapy, orthopedic friction and lymphatic massage
- Completion of the full program qualifies graduates to sit for the national NBCAAM board certification exam
- Small class sizes throughout for direct hands on supervision
canisbodyworks.com/landing-canada
4. Royal Canadian College of Massage Therapy, Canine Massage Certificate (Markham, ON)
Ontario’s Registered Massage Therapists hold some of the strongest manual therapy credentials in North America, and the Royal Canadian College of Massage Therapy in Toronto offers those practitioners a structured pathway to extend those skills into canine care. The course is a four day intensive divided into two parts, hosted at Dogeden Day Care Centre in Markham, with participants earning a 120 hour Certification in Canine Massage Therapy upon completing both parts and submitting four documented case studies.
The RCCMT is registered as a career college under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, giving the program provincial oversight and distinguishing it from unregulated workshop based offerings that carry no institutional accountability. The program is particularly well suited for RMTs who already practice therapeutic massage on people because the anatomical and hands on foundation they bring significantly shortens the learning curve when transitioning into animal work. Veterinary technicians working in integrative clinics will also find it a practical credential to hold, particularly in practices where the vet tech role includes client education on massage techniques between appointments.
Standout features:
- Offered through a career college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act
- Provincial oversight adds institutional accountability absent from unregulated workshops
- Four day intensive format designed around working practitioners’ schedules
- Located in Markham, directly accessible from across the Greater Toronto Area
- 120 hour certification earned after coursework and case study submission
- No prerequisites, making it accessible for practitioners at any stage
- Particularly well suited for Ontario Registered Massage Therapists extending their practice into animal care
Finding the Right Program for Where You Practice
Canada’s veterinary massage education landscape breaks along two fairly clear lines. In British Columbia, CuraCore Canada offers the most rigorous science based option available to licensed veterinary professionals anywhere in the country, with a Sidney location that is accessible to BC practitioners and reachable for those willing to travel from elsewhere. Across the prairies and into Ontario and Atlantic Canada, CIECBW’s multi campus national network fills a real gap by delivering internationally credentialed equine and canine bodywork education to practitioners who’d otherwise have to cross the border for it. For Ontario based vet techs and RMTs, both Canis Bodyworks at AMMEC and the RCCMT offer credentialed hands on pathways with strong institutional backing and no US travel required. Regardless of the program, veterinary rehabilitation and manual therapy training is open to veterinarians, veterinary technicians and licensed physiotherapists, which means building a skilled, credentialed team around this kind of work is well within reach for most Canadian practices.
