Data from the think tank SecondStreet.org indicates over 3.1 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, a diagnostic scan, or to see a specialist. That’s a rise of more than 140,000 since late 2022.
Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba saw the best improvements. In Saskatchewan, the number of people waiting for surgery as of June and July of this year was down 17.4 per cent at 29,713 and those waiting for a diagnostic scan was down 8 per cent at 18,965. In Manitoba, the surgery wait list was down 20.9 per cent and in Quebec, the diagnostic scan list was down by 41.5 per cent.
The most recent data for each province can be seen in the table below:
| Province | Surgery | Specialist | Diagnostic | Date |
| BC | 91,821 (+3.4%) | – | – | SEPT 14, 2023 |
| AB | 76,475 (+1.6%) | 225,122 (N/A) | 114,887 (+5.6%) | SEP-OCT 2023 |
| SK* | 29,713 (-17.4%) | – | 18,965 (-8.0%) | JUN-JUL 2023 |
| MB** | 7,040 (-20.9%) | – | 47,786 (-15.1%) | AUG, 2023 |
| ON | 215,275 (-6.2%) | – | 661,747 (+43.8%) | OCT 31, 2023 |
| QC | 157,331 (-2.1%) | 817,542 (+3.0%) | 413,823 (-41.5%) | SEP-OCT 2023 |
| NB | 25,351 (-7.0%) | – | – | SEP 30, 2023 |
| NL | 6,816 (-62.9%) | – | 78,761 (+52.5%) | SEP-OCT, 2023 |
| NS | 20,116 (-23.4%) | 29,007 (+3.0%) | 82,834 (N/A) | OCT ’23 / JUN ’22 |
| PE | – | – | – | OCT 12, 2023 |
| YT | – | – | – | NOV 15, 2023 |
| NT | 872 (+32.9%) | 9,989 (+969.5%) | 443 (+105.1%) | NOV 2022/ JAN 2023 |
| NU | 717 (+13.4%) | 2,297 (-39.1%) | 123 (+310.0%) | OCT 8, 2023 |
| TOTALS: | 631,527 | 1,083,957 | 1,419,369 | |
| GRAND TOTAL: | 3,134,853 (+4.8%) |
*Saskatchewan and Manitoba numbers accessed from public databases on Dec 13, 2023
**Manitoba only provides data for four types of surgeries and five types of diagnostic scans, so numbers are underreported