How bad are wait times in Canada? Study suggests millions still waiting for health-care services

Heather Wright takes a closer look as to why medical procedure wait times continue to grow in Canada as COVID-19 pandemic backlogs are no longer a factor.

The number of Canadians waiting for medical procedures is growing, according to a study published this week from think tank SecondStreet.org.

The report shows approximately 3.7 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, diagnostic scan, or specialist appointment, and suggests those numbers are likely closer to 5.8 million due to incomplete provincial numbers.

“If you’re not on a waitlist yourself, you probably know someone who is on a waitlist,” says Dom Lucyk, director of communications with SecondStreet. “I think Canadians are getting sick and tired of having a system that’s not working out for them and not getting the care they need while paying thousands of dollars for it out of their taxes.”

Among those waiting for surgery is Cathy Holding, who is scheduled for a hip replacement this January, roughly two years after first seeing a doctor.

“Everyday you have pain,” Holding says. “You can’t avoid that.”

Even basic tasks like making a cup of tea and grocery shopping are challenging for Holding, who says waiting for a new hip has forced her to change many aspects of her life.

“The levels of frustration and depression,” she says. “(Depression) is a big one. Accepting your limitations. It’s all part and party to this whole mess that’s been going on for two years.”

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), more scheduled procedures are being performed to meet growing demand. In 2024, there were 26 per cent more hip replacements, 21 per cent more knee replacements, 11 per cent more cataract surgeries, 7 per cent more cancer surgeries and 16 per cent more MRI and CT scans completed across Canada compared to 2019.

But health systems are also dealing with multiple challenges, including an aging and growing population and workforce shortages in the health-care sector.

Among the recommendations from SecondStreet.org is to implement activity-based funding for hospitals, a model that has been employed in several European countries, Japan and Australia.

“Instead of writing a hospital a big cheque and saying do your best, you fund the hospital based on the number of procedures they provide,” says Lucyk. “This really shifts the incentive structure. It makes the system look at patients more as an opportunity.”

For patients like Holding, the longer the wait could mean additional surgeries in the future, a further burden for her and an additional cost for the health care system.

“The issue with the one hip is now affecting the other hip because I carry everything differently,” she says. “So maybe I am creating another surgery one or two years after this one gets done.”

SecondStreet.org is not placing blame on any party or government, but is pushing for change in the way health care in Canada is delivered.

“We can’t rely on this myth anymore that it was COVID that caused all the ills in Canada’s health-care system,” Lucyk says. “This is a deep systemic problem and we need to see some real health reform if we want these numbers to go in the other direction.”