15,474 Canadians Died Waiting for Health Care in 2023-24

• Data shows nearly 75,000 waiting list deaths since 2018-19, covering a wide range of surgical and diagnostic services 
• No government discloses the data publicly despite shaming businesses publicly for mouldy soup cans found during restaurant inspections. 

Today, SecondStreet.org released government data showing an additional 15,474 patients in Canada died in 2023-24 before receiving various surgeries or diagnostic scans. However, that number is incomplete, as several governments provide either partial data, or simply do not track the problem.

SecondStreet.org collected the data by filing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests across Canada. When the data collected is extrapolated across jurisdictions which did not provide data, the number actually nearly doubles, to around 28,077. These figures cover everything from cancer treatment and heart operations to cataract surgery and MRI scans.

“Canadians pay really high taxes and yet our health care system is failing when compared to better-performing universal systems in Europe,” said Harrison Fleming, Legislative and Policy Director at SecondStreet.org. “Thousands of Canadians across the country find themselves on waitlists — in some cases for several years -— with too many tragically dying before ever getting treated, or even diagnosed.”

This report examines the data SecondStreet.org gathered from provincial governments and their health authorities, between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. Highlights from the research include:

• At least 15,474 patients died in Canada while waiting for surgeries or diagnostic scans. This figure does not include Quebec, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador and most of Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia only provided data on patients who died while waiting for surgeries – not diagnostic scans.
• If one extrapolates the data provided across provinces and health regions that did not provide data, an estimated 28,077 patients died last year on health care waiting lists.
• While some response data is vague, SecondStreet.org observed cases where patients died after waiting anywhere from less than a week for treatment to more than 14 years.
• New data from Ontario Health suggests 378 patients died while waiting for cardiac surgery or a cardiac procedure.
• Since April 2018, SecondStreet.org has identified a staggering 74,677 cases where Canadians died while waiting for care.

“When a restaurant fails a health inspection, the government shares the news publicly and sometimes notices are posted in the establishment’s windows for everyone to see,” said Colin Craig, SecondStreet.org President. “But, when nearly 75,000 Canadians have died before getting the care they needed, governments don’t proactively disclose anything. Maybe it’s time for governments to hold themselves to the same standard they hold everyone else.”

“This research was inspired by stories like Laura Hillier’s, the 18-year-old Ontario patient that died on a waiting list for cancer treatment,” added Craig. “Governments need to do a better job tracking tragic stories like hers, notifying the public about waiting lists deaths and most importantly, initiating reform to save lives.”

To view SecondStreet.org’s new Died on a Waiting List policy brief – click here.

To view each health body’s freedom of information lists, please see these links:

• • BC – Interior Health (surgery / diagnostic)
  • BC – Fraser Health (surgery / diagnostic)
  • BC – Northern Health (surgery and diagnostic)
  • BC – Island Health (surgery / diagnostic)
  • BC – Vancouver Coastal Health (surgery / diagnostic)
  • AB – Alberta Health (No longer tracks data – email response and FOI response)
  • SK – Saskatchewan Health (surgery)
  • MB – Prairie Mountain Health Region (surgery)
  • MB – Southern Health (surgery)
  • ON – Ontario Health (surgery / diagnostic)
  • NS – Nova Scotia Health (surgery)
  • NB – New Brunswick Health (surgery)
  • PEI – Health PEI (surgery and diagnostic)