Wait Times in Canada: Real Numbers by Province and Procedure
Updated: Oct 5
In 2025, the median wait in Canada from a family doctor's referral to treatment was 28.6 weeks. About 15.3 weeks of that passes before you see the specialist, and 13.3 weeks after. But that average can be cut in half or doubled depending on which province you live in and which operation you need.
Why the number on your province's website looks shorter
Most provinces start counting the wait on the day your surgery date is booked with the hospital. The time between your family doctor's referral and your first appointment with the specialist is not part of that count. Across Canada, that first wait alone is 15.3 weeks.
So when a provincial website shows "20 weeks," the real wait from the day you were referred is often well above that. The Fraser Institute survey measures both parts together, which is why its numbers are higher.
Wait times in Canada by province, 2025 (weeks)
Province | Referral to specialist | Specialist to treatment | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
Ontario | 10.7 | 8.5 | 19.2 |
British Columbia | 19.7 | 12.4 | 32.2 |
Quebec | 10.7 | 21.8 | 32.5 |
Saskatchewan | 17.6 | 17.2 | 34.8 |
Alberta | 18.7 | 17.3 | 36.0 |
Manitoba | 23.4 | 15.7 | 39.1 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 26.6 | 16.9 | 43.5 |
Nova Scotia | 30.7 | 18.3 | 49.0 |
Prince Edward Island | 33.6 | 16.1 | 49.7 |
New Brunswick | 34.4 | 26.5 | 60.9 |
Canada | 15.3 | 13.3 | 28.6 |
The report's authors advise caution with the Prince Edward Island and Quebec figures because of missing data and low response rates.
Waits for common procedures
The figures below show only the second part of the wait, after you have seen the specialist. The wait to see the specialist comes on top.
Procedure | ON | BC | AB | QC | MB | NS | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hip and knee replacement | 20 | 31 | 42 | 50 | 52 | 24 | 30 |
Cataract surgery | 18 | 16 | 14 | 16.8 | 16 | 8 | 54 |
Hysterectomy | 16 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 18 | 24 | 52 |
Breast surgery (mammoplasty) | 12.8 | 38 | 22 | 12 | 37 | 31 | 30 |
Knee arthroscopy | 11 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 22.5 | 14 | 12.5 |
The same joint replacement that takes 20 weeks after seeing the surgeon in Ontario can take a year in Manitoba. More often than not, what decides the wait is not the operation but the province.
What doctors call reasonable, and what actually happens
For hip and knee replacement, the national median wait after seeing the surgeon is 32.1 weeks. The target Canada's federal and provincial governments set for themselves in 2005 is 26 weeks. The wait surgeons consider clinically reasonable is 13.8 weeks.
The same gap shows up across all specialties: specialists consider 8.8 weeks a reasonable wait for treatment, while the actual median is 13.3.
Imaging is a separate queue
If a diagnosis depends on a scan, the wait starts there. In 2025 the median wait was 18.1 weeks for an MRI (12 in Ontario and Quebec, 52 in Prince Edward Island), 8.8 weeks for a CT scan and 5.4 weeks for an ultrasound.
What you can do to shorten the wait
Ask your specialist how long their own list is. Two surgeons in the same city and specialty can be months apart.
Tell the office you can come on short notice. According to the same survey, 40.7% of patients on waiting lists would accept surgery within a week if a slot opened. Being on the cancellation list can move you forward.
Check your province's official wait times. Most provinces publish them on their health ministry or health authority website, often by hospital or by surgeon. Keep in mind that, for the reason above, these figures leave out the first wait.
Ask your family doctor to refer you to another specialist. Some provinces have central intake for certain surgeries, which sends you to the first available surgeon.
Ask about treatment in another province. Some provinces require prior approval for planned care elsewhere in Canada, so check with your provincial health plan first.
Consider treatment abroad. In 2024/25, 2.1% of Canadian patients received elective treatment in another country. In some areas the share is much higher: 9.6% of plastic surgery patients in Ontario, and in Alberta 8.6% of urology patients and 6.2% of gynecology patients. How that route works, who makes the decisions and which documents you need when you come home is explained in a separate guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are these official statistics?
No. The Fraser Institute has surveyed specialists every year since 1993; 1,577 specialists responded in 2025. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) publishes separate figures based on hospital records for priority procedures such as hip and knee replacement and cataract surgery. Because the methods differ, the numbers do not match exactly.
Is the wait this long in urgent cases too?
No. These waits are for planned treatment. Cancer treatment waits are much shorter: 4.2 weeks in total for radiation oncology and 4.7 weeks for medical oncology.
What does waiting cost a patient?
A separate Fraser Institute study estimates the loss per waiting patient in 2024 at CAD 3,364 counting only working hours, and CAD 10,266 counting all waking hours. That estimate does not include pain or any worsening of health.
When will these numbers be updated?
The Fraser Institute publishes its report every December. This page will be updated when the new report is released.
Sources
Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2025 Report (Moir and Esmail, December 2025)
Canadian Institute for Health Information, Wait times for priority procedures in Canada
Related guides
How Medical Travel Coordination Works for Canadian Patients
Maple Med Global is a medical travel coordination company based in Toronto, not a clinic. Suitability for any treatment and all clinical decisions are made by the medical teams at partner hospitals. This article is general information, not medical advice.
