A new poll says long wait times lead half of Canadians to avoid seeing a doctor or going to the hospital. The poll was conducted by Léger and commissioned by right-leaning think-tanks the Montreal Economic Institute, SecondStreet.org, and the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The percentage of respondents who say they avoid consulting doctors because of wait times is highest among women, people over 55 and Quebecers. READ MORE: The survey numbers do not indicate whether the people who avoided seeing a doctor had seen a nurse or turned to other services like pharmacists. It is also unclear whether respondents started avoiding hospitals because of wait times over the past year or at another point in their lives. Just over a quarter of poll respondents say they have paid for private health care to avoid wait times or unsatisfactory service. The survey also indicates that 61 per cent of Canadians support being able to pay out of pocket or use insurance to access private care if they cannot get timely care in the public system. However, a quarter of respondents say they oppose the coexistence of public and private health care systems. Asked if they believe the health care system in their area needs change, 84 per cent of respondents said yes. The poll ran from Oct. 16 to 19, 2026, among an online panel of 1,510 Canadians. READ MORE: The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content. — With files from Katrine Desautels This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.
