Leaving Canada for Medical Care, 2025
VANCOUVER—An estimated 105,529 Canadians travelled abroad for medical care in 2025, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“More Canadians are deciding they must leave the country to get the medical care they need in a more timely manner,” said Nadeem Esmail, director of health-care policy studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Leaving Canada for Medical Care, 2025.
There are multiple potential explanations why Canadians choose to obtain medical care abroad including wait times, which are now a fundamental characteristic of Canada’s health-care system. Last year, the median wait between doctor referral and actual treatment was 28.6 weeks, the second-longest wait ever measured and more than triple the wait in 1993 when measurement first started.
According to the study, more patients (10,320) travelled abroad last year for general surgeries than any other treatment.
High numbers of Canadians also left the country for urology treatment (12,697), internal medicine procedures such as colonoscopies, gastroscopies and angiographies (8,304), and ophthalmology treatment (6,482).
Among the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of patients (2.4 per cent) leave the country for treatment while Ontario had the largest number of patients (26,513) leave the country for treatment.
“Considering Canada’s long wait times, which can cause increased suffering for patients and decreased quality of life, it’s not surprising so many Canadians are travelling abroad for medical treatment,” said Mackenzie Moir, study co-author and senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute.
Ontario | 51,538 |
British Columbia | 25,698 |
Alberta | 13,919 |
Quebec | 6,285 |
Saskatchewan | 1,852 |
Nova Scotia | 1,820 |
New Brunswick | 1,659 |
Manitoba | 1,585 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 950 |
Prince Edward Island | 222 |
Media Contact:
Nadeem Esmail, Director, Health-Care Policy Studies, Fraser Institute
Mackenzie Moir, Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:
Mark Hasiuk, Fraser Institute
604-688-0221 ext. 517
mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org
Read next: Poll: 50% of Canadians skip medical care over wait times
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of 86 think-tanks. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit fraserinstitute.org.
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