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VANCOUVER — Long waits for surgery and other medical treatment cost Canadian patients more than $4.2 billion in lost wages and productivity last year, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute.
The report estimates about 1.4 million patients across Canada waited for medically necessary treatment in 2025, with each losing an average of $3,043 in wages and productivity during working hours.
The study draws on data from the institute’s annual Waiting Your Turn survey of Canadian physicians. In 2025, doctors reported a national median wait time of 13.3 weeks from a specialist appointment to treatment.
Researchers say the estimate of lost wages likely understates the overall economic impact because it does not include the additional 15.3-week median wait to see a specialist after receiving a referral from a family doctor. It also excludes time patients spend waiting for diagnostic tests such as MRI or CT scans.
The report says the total median wait time for medical treatment in Canada reached 28.6 weeks in 2025, the second-longest recorded in the survey’s history.
The study found the economic cost of waiting varied by province.
Patients in New Brunswick faced the highest average loss in productivity at $4,864 per patient, followed by Quebec at $3,912 and Alberta at $3,724.
Other provinces reported estimated losses of $2,720 in British Columbia, $3,195 in Saskatchewan, $3,220 in Manitoba, $1,918 in Ontario, $3,317 in Nova Scotia, $3,466 in Prince Edward Island and $3,261 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Fraser Institute says the analysis is based on time patients spend waiting for treatment during normal working hours and the estimated value of lost productivity during those periods.
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