Nearly five million Canadians requiring a medical procedure are currently on a waitlist, a new study estimates.
Provincial data shows approximately 3.6 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, diagnostic scans, or a specialist appointment, according to a report published this week by think tank SecondStreet.org.
But those figures may not represent the full picture, Second Street said, estimating the actual count is probably nearer to 4.9 million when accounting for gaps in provincial data. Second Street received no data from either Prince Edward Island or the Yukon and is also missing specialist waitlist numbers for five additional provinces.
SecondStreet.org compiled its dataset primarily through freedom of information requests filed across Canada, with additional information drawn from government websites. A direct comparison in the report of comparable data points from late 2022 versus today indicates there has been little change in patient backlog.
“A lot of patients are still stuck on waitlists even though the pandemic backlog is four years old,” SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig said in the report.
Here’s a look at the numbers for each province and territory that has submitted data.
Western Canada
British Columbia has 96,238 on surgery waitlists, 132,425 awaiting specialist consultations, and a diagnostic scan backlog of 236,162 patients, or just over 2 percent of the province’s population.
Alberta has 81,829 patients awaiting surgery and 268,607 in need of a specialist appointment. Nearly 4 percent of the population—200,157 patients—has a diagnostic scan pending.
A total of 30,786 people in Saskatchewan are on a waitlist for surgery and 19,359, or 1.5 percent of residents, need a diagnostic scan. Specialist waitlist numbers were not available.
Manitoba was also missing specialist numbers, but data showed just shy of 6 percent of the population, or 10,505 patients, were awaiting surgery, and 90,045 needed a diagnostic scan.
Central Canada
Ontario is grappling with substantial surgical backlogs, affecting 227,500 people, while an even larger cohort of 722,338 patients—or 4.4 percent of the province’s population—are waiting for diagnostic scanning services. There was no data available for specialist wait times.
Quebec has 888,248 people waiting to see specialists and 128,220 surgical candidates or 1.4 percent of residents on hold. Another 100,297 individuals are awaiting diagnostic imaging appointments.
Atlantic Canada
A total of 18,937 patients in New Brunswick are on the surgical waiting list, while 110,413 residents—representing 12.5 percent of the total population—are awaiting diagnostic imaging. Data was not available for specialist waitlists.
Nova Scotia has 16,152 patients on surgical waiting lists, 55,707 individuals seeking specialist consultations, and 99,234, or 9 percent of its population, requiring diagnostic imaging services.
Newfoundland has 17,312 individuals awaiting surgical procedures and 54,994 residents—representing 10 percent of the population—requiring a diagnostic scan.
Territories
In the Northwest Territories, the surgical backlog stands at 1,311 patients, while 14,736 individuals are awaiting specialist consultations. Additionally, diagnostic imaging is required for 2,520 residents, representing 5.5 percent of the territorial population.
Nunavut outperformed all other regions: just 129 individuals, representing just 0.3 percent of the population, required surgery, while 1,403 residents were on the waiting list for specialist consultations. There is no backlog for diagnostic imaging.
English (US) · 
Turkish (TR) · 