How did it become all that it is today?

In the late 1940's a small group of dedicated veterinarians from the Maritime provinces got together to discuss the idea of combining their resources to host an annual educational conference. The result was the formation of the Maritime Provinces Veterinary Conference. Because of its central location and the fact that the organizing Secretary was the head of the Federal Animal Pathology Laboratory located in Sackville, the Conference was held at Mount Allison University. In the late 60's-early 70's the decision was made to hold the Conference, now called the Atlantic Provinces Veterinary Conference, in a different Atlantic province each year. Over the years and for a number of different reasons it became apparent that such a policy was not what the veterinary profession was willing to support. In the early 90's a survey was carried out that indicated the veterinary profession and its commercial supporters preferred a central location. Metro Halifax - Dartmouth was chosen as the site. In the late 90's a decision was made to expand the conference to include not only veterinarians and veterinary students but technologists, hospital/clinic managers and front office staff. The "Veterinary Team" concept has seen Conference attendance jump from approximately 100 delegates to over 900 delegates. The majority are from the Atlantic Provinces but many come from other areas of Canada and from the USA.

In the early 2000's the APVC moved to the Halifax Harbourfront Marriott, where it continues to be hosted, as it is the only hotel and conference centre in Atlantic Canada that can host a conference of our size under one roof.

The current conference format allows for 16.5 hard continuing education hours for DVMs, RVTs and Managers who attend the full event. The conference starts on Thursday evening with an opening reception and sessions run during the day Friday, Saturday and 2/3 of Sunday. APVC also holds several social activities throughout the weekend including; fun run, yoga, receptions and conference prize presentations.

After missing APVC in 2020 and 2021 due to government restrictions on gathering, the conference committee was excited to return to normal in April of 2022 with a record number of attendees. APVC was the first in person veterinary conference in Canada following the pandemic years.

The Conference is organized by a small, dedicated group of volunteers with a wealth of veterinary knowledge and connections. APVC is self-sustaining due to the financial support of industry and the outstanding quality and value of Conference speakers.