At least 2.9 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, diagnostic scans, or specialist appointments, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests obtained by SecondStreet.org, a think tank. Not all provinces had data available, leading SecondStreet.org to suggest that the true total could be close to 4 million people on waiting lists.
Waiting lists are at historic highs, according to the Fraser Institute’s 2021 report, Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada. The report said that the median wait time in 2021 was the longest recorded in the survey’s history.
