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Canadian patients faced an average wait of 28.6 weeks from family doctor referral to treatment this year, the second-longest wait in more than three decades, according to a new study.
The study, released on Dec. 9 by the Fraser Institute, collected data from physicians nationwide across 12 medical specialties, including several types of surgeries. It found that the median wait time for Canadian patients this year fell by 1.4 weeks from last year’s 30-week average but remains above pre-pandemic levels.
“Long wait times can result in increased suffering for patients, lost productivity at work, decreased quality of life, and in the worst cases, disability or death,” said Mackenzie Moir, senior policy analyst and co author of the report.
The national average of 28.6 weeks reflects wait times at two stages: 15.3 weeks from a family doctor’s referral to a specialist consultation, and 13.3 weeks from that consultation to actual treatment. The wait to receive treatment after consultation was four and a half weeks longer than what physicians consider clinically reasonable, according to the report.
Patients faced the longest waits for neurosurgery at 49.9 weeks, followed by orthopaedic surgery at 48.6 weeks. Wait times were much shorter for treatments such as medical oncology and radiation oncology, at 4.7 weeks and 4.2 weeks, respectively.
Canadians also saw increased delays for diagnostic testing compared with last year: 8.8 weeks for CT scans (up by 0.7 weeks), 18.1 weeks for MRI scans (nearly two weeks longer), and 5.4 weeks for ultrasounds (an increase of 0.2 weeks).
Wait times this year decreased in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, while increasing in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, and Quebec.
Ontario had the shortest median wait time at 19.2 weeks, while New Brunswick had the longest at 60.9 weeks, though it also saw a significant decrease of 8.5 weeks. Nova Scotia experienced the largest increase, with waits rising by 9.9 weeks, while P.E.I. saw the steepest drop, falling 27.7 weeks.
The authors advise caution when interpreting the results of Atlantic Canada, especially P.E.I., due to missing data. They also advise caution in interpreting this year’s results for Quebec, where wait times rose from 28.9 weeks to 32.5 weeks, because the province had a low response rate.
The study is based on 1,577 responses from medical practitioners surveyed between the weeks of Jan. 16 and May 30. Participants represent a range of specialties, including plastic surgery, gynaecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, general surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, urology, internal medicine, radiation oncology, and medical oncology.
A related study released last month by think tank SecondStreet.org found that more than 23,000 Canadians died in the 2024-2025 fiscal year while waiting for a variety of services, from heart surgery to diagnostic scans. The report, based on government data, did not include Alberta and some areas of Manitoba.
The report 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. Health-care spending for 2025-26 was “on track” to surpass that number, said report author Colin Craig.
