Wait times for elective surgeries across Canada have shown some improvement, with provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia recording significant gains, and in some cases, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. However, in other provinces, a growing share of patients waited longer than recommended timeframes, particularly for hip replacements in Newfoundland and Labrador, knee replacements in Manitoba, and cataract surgeries in Quebec. These mixed results highlight both the impact of surgical access investments in some provinces (e.g. Nova Scotia) and the continued need for shared learning across regions to further reduce wait times.
For more on Canada’s access-to-care performance, see this Intelligence Memo.
