Vast majority of Canadians want health system changes: survey

According to a recent survey most Canadians are calling for changes in the health care system amid long wait times and staffing shortages.

With concerns about long wait times and staffing shortages, more than nine in 10 Canadians want to see widespread health-care system changes, according to a new survey by Nanos Research for the consulting firm Santis Health.

According to Nanos Research, key findings from the survey include 91 per cent of respondents saying the health-care system must change, 55 per cent saying the system is not only headed off course, but in the wrong direction, and 70 per cent saying they’re worried or frustrated about the state of the system.

“Nine in 10 Canadians calling for system change is not a nudge — it’s a mandate,” wrote Santis Health managing partner, Patrick Nelson in a press release. “It’s a wake-up call for those who resist change, and importantly, ‘permission’ for decision makers to move faster and further to innovate and do things differently.”

“Canadians are ready and willing to change,” Nelson wrote. “The system and governments now have a license or even, an obligation to change, and lead it.”

Only 14 per cent of respondents said they believe the health-care system is headed in the right direction.

Among top issues of concern, 26 per cent of respondents pointed to long wait times, while 12.1 per cent said they’re most worried about poor access to services, and 11.5 per cent said their top concern is a shortage of staff.

More than four out of five (81 per cent) of respondents also told Nanos Research they support modernizing how care is delivered, for example through expanded virtual care and other digital tools.

Asked if they could give one piece of advice on how to improve the system other than increasing government spending, what they would say, 9.3 per cent of respondents said to increase public funding and protect public delivery.

In 2023, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau announced $2 billion in upfront health transfer top-ups to the provinces, as well as ongoing increases to health transfers tied to specific deliverables through bilateral agreements with the provinces.

According to Nanos Research, the next two top pieces of advice were to expand private options, at 7.5 per cent, and to cut administrative layers and red tape at seven per cent.

Methodology: Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land-and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,003 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, from May 3 to 6, 2026 as part of an omnibus survey. The sample included both land and cell-lines across Canada. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest Census information and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada. Individuals randomly called using random digit dialing with a maximum of five call backs. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.