New study compares hospital wait times across Canada

Ontario has one of the lowest emergency room wait times in Canada, according to a new study by a public policy think tank.

MEI, or Ideas for a More Prosperous Society, looked at the 2024-2025 data from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

They found that the average wait time to see a doctor in Ontario was 1 hour and 30 minutes, while the total length of a patient’s stay in hospital was 4 hours on average.

Quebec, by comparison, had the longest length of stay at 5 hours and 23 minutes.

Here’s the breakdown of the average emergency room wait times in southern Ontario and their ranking in the study, from shortest to longest:

• Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in Clinton – Wait time 0:37 (Rank: 3)
• Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in Seaforth – Wait time 0:51 (Rank: 11)
• Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in St. Marys – Wait time 1:04 (Rank: 19)
• Alexandra Hospital in Ingersoll – Wait time 1:24 (Rank: 49)
• Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in Stratford –Wait time 1:25 (Rank: 51)
• Woodstock Hospital – Wait time 1:34 (Rank: 59)
• Norfolk General Hospital – Wait time 1:41 (Rank: 69)
• Halton Healthcare Services Corp in Milton – Wait time 1:42 (Rank: 71)
• Guelph General Hospital –Wait time 1:42 (Rank: 71)
• St. Mary’s General Hospital (now Waterloo Regional Health Network @ Queen’s) in Kitchener – Wait time 2:06 (Rank: 101)
• Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus – Wait time 2:07 (Rank: 102)
• Grand River Hospital (now Waterloo Regional Health Network @ Midtown) in Kitchener – Wait time 2:32 (Rank: 112)
• Brant Community Healthcare in Brantford – Wait time 2:33 (Rank: 114)
• Cambridge Memorial Hospital – Wait time 2:47 (Rank: 121)

Addressing the problem

MEI’s report also called for a new approach to deal with rising wait times in emergency departments.

The data collected, which covered the last five years, showed the median length of stay and time to see a physician remained the same or increased across the country.

In Ontario hospitals, the study showed “neither improvement nor deterioration” in median time to see a doctor.

To address long wait times, MEI said Canada should consider adopting a healthcare model similar to the one used in France, where independent clinics offer non-emergency treatment for things like sprains, stitches, infections and flu cases. They also conduct blood tests and imaging services on site.

“The main benefit of this model is that it helps lighten the pressure on the regular hospital emergency rooms, which can redirect the more minor cases to the clinics,” the report said. “This allows the hospital ERs to focus on the serious and complex emergencies, and the cases that require hospitalization. This in turn allows patients with comparatively minor emergencies to be treated more rapidly than in the regular hospital system that must prioritize cases based on their urgency and severity, leaving minor cases to wait quite a long time before receiving treatment.”