One in five Canadians say they do not have a family doctor and face health-care challenges as a result, according to a recent survey.
The survey also found that many Canadians who do have a family doctor report it is difficult to get an appointment, waiting at least a week or more to be seen. Survey authors say that is because doctors are taking on too much.
“The family doctors in the health-care system are also overworked, with many taking on too many patients as a short-term measure to address this more systemic issue,” the authors wrote.
A release on the survey results noted the numbers of Canadians without a family doctor has remained relatively unchanged since 2022.
The report also noted that the lack of access to a family doctor has a “ripple effect” in patients accessing other parts of the health-care system, including diagnostic and specialist appointments.
The survey also found that 26 percent of participants said they had “chronic difficulty” accessing health care, compared to 16 percent who said they had “comfortable access” to the care they needed over the past six months. Another 33 percent reported facing challenges finding health-care services.
More than a third of those surveyed (36 percent) said they needed a diagnostic test in the past six months but that it was “difficult” or “very difficult” to get one. The report said similar rates have been reported for the past three years.
Among those who said they needed emergency care in the past six months, 44 percent reported it was difficult or very difficult to get it. This is a drop from the 51 percent of survey respondents who said it was difficult to get emergency care in 2022.
About three-quarters of Canadians said they were open to virtual care, if it speeds up access to health care.
The annual “Died on a Waiting List” report analyzes data from provincial health authorities, excluding Alberta and some parts of Manitoba.
Report author and president of SecondStreet.org, Colin Craig, said it was a 3 percent increase over data from the previous year.
The report also noted that government spending on health care reached an all-time high in 2024-25, at $244 billion, or an average of $5,943 per person.
Craig said that health-care spending for 2025-26 was “on track” to surpass that amount.
