Medical Waitlists Grow Beyond COVID Backlog

Government data released today by think tank SecondStreet.org shows that more Canadians are on a health care waitlist than there were coming out of the COVID pandemic. SecondStreet.org obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests and figures posted on government websites.

The data shows at least 3.7 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, a diagnostic scan, or to see a specialist. However, this figure is certainly an underestimate as provincial government data is often incomplete. Calculations by SecondStreet.org suggest the true figure is approximately 5.8 million – approximately one in every eight people

In 2022, when Canada came out of the pandemic, there were 2.9 million confirmed cases of Canadians on waitlists. However, some provinces have since begun reporting data they hadn’t previously. An apples-to-apples comparison still shows a waitlist increase of roughly 200,000 patients since the end of the pandemic.

“Coming out of COVID, many were talking about the waiting list backlogs in health care,” said SecondStreet.org Communications Director Dom Lucyk. “While the pandemic certainly didn’t help, it’s telling that even three years later, the number of patients on waitlists continues to grow throughout Canada. The system is broken and needs reform.”

A breakdown of the results by province can be seen in the table below:

Observations about each province include:

British Columbia: Since the end of COVID, the number of people waiting for surgery has increased by approximately 7,000. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist. Since last year, diagnostic numbers are up significantly.

Alberta: The number of patients waiting for surgery has risen by roughly 6,000 since the end of the pandemic, while the diagnostic waitlist has gone up by nearly 70,000. However, this may not be an accurate representation ‒ Alberta’s waitlist reporting now includes more data sources since SecondStreet.org began tracking these figures.

Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan’s surgical waitlist has dropped over 4,000 since the end of the pandemic, while its diagnostic waitlist has dropped by over 1,000. It’s important to note that, while the prairie province does report data for all surgeries, its data on diagnostics is spotty, only covering MRI and CT scans. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist.

Manitoba: Over 30,000 more Manitobans are waiting for diagnostics than at the end of the pandemic, while over 1,000 more are waiting for surgery. Furthermore, Manitoba’s data quality on the surgical waitlist could definitely be improved: it only provides figures for four types of procedures (cardiac, cataract, hip and knee replacements.) Its data on diagnostics is more comprehensive, though. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist.

Ontario: The diagnostic waitlist has skyrocketed by nearly 260,000 cases since the end of COVID. However, readers should note the figure provided by the government only includes CT and MRI scans. The surgical waitlist has barely changed over three years. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist.

Quebec: The province has greatly reduced its diagnostic (down by over 250,000) and surgical (down by over 9,000) waitlists. However, its specialist waitlist has grown by over 115,000. Still, in total, that adds up to an overall reduction in medical waitlists overall. Quebec is one of the few jurisdictions that has provided data on the specialist waitlist since the inaugural report in 2022.

New Brunswick: The province has reduced its surgical waitlist by nearly 4,000. It’s impossible to tell whether the diagnostic waitlist has grown or lessened since the pandemic, as diagnostic figures were originally not provided. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist.

Newfoundland and Labrador: The surgical waitlist has dropped by about 100 patients. Greater progress has been made on the diagnostic waitlist – over 8,000 fewer cases. The government does not know how many patients are waiting to see a specialist.

Nova Scotia: One of the better jurisdictions when it comes to data reporting, Nova Scotia has seen mixed results. Its waitlists for surgery (over 9,000 fewer) and specialists (nearly 5,000 fewer) have been reduced since the end of the pandemic, but its diagnostic waitlist has risen by nearly 13,000 patients. It is the only jurisdiction to provide detailed information on the types of specialists patients are waiting to see, which is encouraging. However, when it comes to diagnostics, it only reports the waitlist for CT scans.

Prince Edward Island: The government indicated it does not know anything about current waitlist numbers. 

The Territories: Yukon does not have any data about the number of patients waiting for health care. In the remaining two territories, waitlists have grown significantly since the end of COVID.

“Japan, France, Sweden there are lots of countries with universal systems that don’t have the backlogs that we do,” continued Lucyk. “Marginal changes to our system won’t cut it. Provinces need to get their act together and start fixing the system, mainly by learning from  countries with better performing universal health care systems.”

To view raw data from each province, please see the hyperlinks in the table above.