The National Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program was first introduced in 1992.
The following table shows the number of samples tested and the number of detected cases of BSE by year as part of the BSE Surveillance Program in Canada.
- "Number of samples tested" indicates the number of samples submitted to provincial or federal laboratories
- The number of samples tested may change as new laboratory results become available
- Each sample represents 1 bovine
- Yearly values represent the number of samples tested for BSE in that calendar year
- The "Number of cases of atypical or classical BSE" are the sum of those samples whose positive diagnosis has been confirmed by the BSE National Reference Laboratory
- In 1993, Canada detected a positive case of classical BSE in a bovine imported from the United Kingdom
This case is included in the following table - In 2003, the United States of America detected classical BSE in an animal imported from Canada
This case is not included in the following table because it was not tested as part of Canada's BSE Surveillance Program
| Year | Number of samples tested | Number of cases of atypical BSE | Number of cases of classical BSE | Total number of cases of BSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (updated February 28, 2025) | 820 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12,417 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 16,262 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 24,080 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 28,375 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 22,171 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 30,457 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 30,894 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 29,835 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 27,384 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 26,220 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | 27,389 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 31,092 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 27,357 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 32,867 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | 34,382 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2009 | 34,549 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | 48,863 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2007 | 58,285 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2006 | 57,620 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2005 | 58,484 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 | 23,845 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | 3,478 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 | 3,416 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1,849 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 964 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 681 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 802 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 526 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 249 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 197 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 285 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1992 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 696,279 | 3 | 18 | 21 |
The following table displays the number of cases of classical BSE found in cattle born and raised in Canada, sorted by the year they were born. Cattle contract BSE in their first year of life if they eat feed contaminated with prions. The year they were born gives important insight regarding when they might have gotten infected.
The numbers in the table do not include a case that Canada imported from the United Kingdom (born in 1986 and detected in 1993), but they do include a case that Canada exported to the U.S. (born in 1997 and detected in 2003).
| Year of birth | Number of cases of classical BSE |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2002 | 3 |
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2000 | 3 |
| 1998 | 2 |
| 1997 | 2 |
| 1996 | 1 |
| Total | 18 |
Case reports are continuously archived. Completed investigation reports on cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are available in the Open Government Portal under the title "Completed investigations of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases in Canada" and Record ID b3c4ff2f-6802-40fb-99db-aab8d71e0ebe.