Long surgery and treatment wait times cost Canadian patients more than $4.2 billion in lost wages and productivity in 2025. 

An estimated 1.4 million patients waited for medically necessary treatment in Canada last year, and each patient lost an estimated $3043 (on average) in wages and reduced productivity. 

Historically, Canada has had long medical wait times, but worsening shortages of staff and material resources have produced record numbers. "In 2025, we reached the second highest wait time ever measured in Canada, at 28.6 weeks from referral by a primary care physician to treatment by a specialist," Nadeem Esmail, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute in Toronto, told Medscape News Canada. "This is a slight decline from 30 weeks in 2024, but it's the second-longest in the survey's history, and it is still more than three times as long as the wait time in 1993 when we first measured wait times nationally." 

A recent study by the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy research institute and think tank, examined wait times for 12 medical specialties across Canada's 10 provinces. Patients waited the longest for neurosurgery (49.9 weeks) and orthopedic surgery (48.6 weeks). The shortest waits were for radiation oncology (4.2 weeks) and medical oncology (4.7 weeks).

In 2025, the national median wait time from specialist appointment to treatment was 13.3 weeks, according to the survey. Ontario reported the shortest total wait between referral from a primary care physician and receipt of treatment (19.2 weeks), followed by British Columbia (32.2 weeks) and Quebec (32.5 weeks). Patients in New Brunswick had the longest wait times (60.9 weeks), followed by Prince Edward Island (49.7 weeks) and Nova Scotia (49 weeks). 

Financial Burden of Medical Wait Times

The authors of the report noted that the $4.2 billion in lost wages is likely a conversative estimate because it doesn't account for the additional 15.3-week wait to see a specialist after receiving a referral from a primary care physician. Also, it doesn't take into account the many weeks patients wait for diagnostic tests like MRI or CT scans.

Moreover, the estimate places no intrinsic value on the time that individuals spend waiting in a reduced capacity outside of the work week. Valuing all hours of the week, including evenings and weekends, but excluding 8 hours of sleep per night, would increase the estimated cost of waiting to $12.9 billion, or about $9336 per person.

In addition, this estimate only counts costs borne by the individual waiting for treatment. The costs of care provided by family members (the time spent caring for the individual waiting for treatment) and their lost productivity due to difficulty or mental anguish are not valued. Nonmonetary medical costs, such as increased risk for mortality or adverse events that result directly from long delays for treatment, are not included in this estimate.

High Emotional Toll 

The financial cost of queues is compounded by the emotional toll they take on patients and families. 

"The wait times for specialist appointments and surgery diagnostics have continued to trend in the wrong direction, and patients really do deserve timely access to care," said Zainab Abdurrahman, MD, president of the Ontario Medical Association. "These delays are bad for patient health outcomes and quality of life. People are forced to take leave from their work, which impacts their livelihoods." 

The Canadian government's health policy choices are largely responsible for Canada's long wait times, said Esmail. "In Canada, we have one of the developed world's most expensive universal access healthcare systems, but we have the worst access to healthcare in the developed world in terms of waiting times and access to physicians, hospital beds, and advanced medical technologies. This is an inexpensive healthcare system that comes with a very large price tag due to a governmental monopoly and the lack of cost-sharing fees."

"No one should have to put their life on hold for months or even years while waiting for surgery or treatment. This uncertainty takes a toll on patients, who feel that they can't contribute to their families or maintain their livelihoods," added Abdurrahman. "The waits place an enormous psychological strain on families and on the broader economy. Moreover, the inability to receive timely treatment and recovery potentially forces people out of the workforce. These long wait times also prevent us from catching medical conditions earlier with screening programs, resulting in people presenting late in the disease process. There is a lot to consider beyond economics and the disease entity alone," concluded Abdurrahman.

Esmail and Abdurrahman reported no relevant financial relationships. 

Evra Taylor is a widely published freelance medical writer and reporter with 20 years' experience covering a broad range of therapeutic sectors, including family health, cardiology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, and dermatology.