The Cost of Waiting for Care

Long waits for surgery and medical treatment cost Canadians almost $4.1 billion in lost wages and productivity last year.

According to a new report from the Fraser Institute, an estimated 1.4 million patients in Canada waited for medically necessary treatment in 2021, and each lost an estimated $2,848 on average due to lost wages and reduced productivity during working hours.

The total median wait time in Canada for medical treatment was 25.6 weeks last year—the longest in the report’s history.