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How long are Canadians waiting for surgery? A look by province.
Using the latest 2025 national data, here is how long patients wait from a family doctor's referral to actual treatment, where you live changes everything.
Using the latest 2025 national data, here is how long patients wait from a family doctor's referral to actual treatment, where you live changes everything.
In 2025, the median wait in Canada from a GP referral to treatment was 28.6 weeks, the second longest on record. But that national number hides enormous differences between provinces. The same surgery can mean a few months in one province and well over a year in another.
From GP referral to receipt of treatment, in weeks. Source: Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn 2025.
Manitoba's median also rose in 2025; full provincial detail is in the Fraser Institute report.
A median is the midpoint, so for many patients the real wait is far longer, especially for orthopedic surgery like hip and knee replacement, where waits at individual hospitals can stretch past a year. And the wait is not free. It means months or years of pain, lost mobility, lost income, and a slow narrowing of daily life while you wait your turn.
If your wait is short, the public system, when it moves, is excellent. But if you are facing a year or more, you have more options than most people realize.
You can ask your specialist whether another hospital nearby has a shorter list. In some cases you can travel to another province for private care, paid out of pocket. And you can access accredited care abroad, where leading hospitals perform these procedures for international patients every week, often with a confirmed date in weeks rather than a place in a queue, and at a fraction of private North American cost.
Going abroad is a serious decision and not right for everyone. The safeguards matter: choose only internationally accredited hospitals, have the surgical team confirm your candidacy before any travel, travel with proper medical and evacuation insurance, and make sure your records come home so your Canadian doctor can manage your recovery.
We are a Victoria-based, certified medical travel facilitator serving Canadians across the country. We help you understand your options honestly, match you to an accredited hospital if travel makes sense, coordinate the entire journey, and support your recovery back home. If medical travel is not right for you, we will tell you.
Source: Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2025. Figures are median total waits from GP referral to treatment and will change over time. This page is general information, not medical advice.