Over 105,000 Canadians travelled abroad for healthcare last year: study

A new study by the Fraser Institute estimates that over 105,000 Canadians elected to travel abroad to receive non-emergency medical care last year, but the authors warn the number is likely higher.

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A new study by the Fraser Institute estimates that over 105,000 Canadians elected to travel abroad to receive non-emergency medical care last year, but the authors warn that the actual number is likely higher.

The Fraser Institute report notes that long wait times and a desire for higher-quality beyond what Canada’s universal healthcare system could provide drove an estimated 105,529 patients to seek medical attention abroad in 2025.

The study used data from specialists in each Canadian province across 12 major medical specialties, asking them what percentage of their patients received non-emergency medical treatment outside Canada in the previous year.

Physicians across medical specialties reported that 2.1 per cent of their patients had to leave Canada for non-emergency medical treatment.

The study’s authors, Mackenzie Moir, Nadeem Esmail, and Yanick Labrie combined the reported percentages with the total number of procedures performed in Canada and found that a “significant” number of patients were leaving Canada for health care.

An estimated 105,529 patients told their medical specialists that they had left Canada for medical care in 2025.

The report notes that the estimate could be an understatement. The territories of Canada were excluded from the study, and the numbers do not account for Canadians leaving for medical care who did not consult a specialist regarding the decision. The numbers are also based on the total number of procedures, which is less than the total number of patients consulted and the number of Canadians who required treatment.

“In some cases, these patients may have needed to leave Canada due to a lack of available resources or a lack of appropriate procedures or technologies. In others, their departure may have been driven by a desire to return more quickly to their lives, to seek out superior quality care, or perhaps to save their own lives or avoid the risk of disability,” the report stated.

Albertan physicians reported the highest percentage of patients leaving Canada for treatment, saying three per cent of their patients had gone abroad. Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest percentage, with only 0.8 per cent of their patients leaving Canada for care.

At the end of last year, Alberta also announced a new hybrid model that would allow patients to opt in to private healthcare instead of being forced to travel abroad for timely care, in an effort to reduce long wait times and improve access to healthcare in the province, a problem faced nationwide.

Patients needing a urology-related surgery were the most likely to leave, according to the specialists, with 3.7 per cent leaving Canada for surgery. The report estimated that at least 12,697 Canadians travelled outside of Canada for Urology surgery, while 10,320 Canadians travelled internationally to receive general surgeries.

Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, had 51,538 patients leave the country for medical care.

“Clearly, the number of Canadians who ultimately receive their medical care in other countries is not insignificant. That a considerable number of Canadians travelled abroad and paid to escape the well-known failings of the Canadian health-care system speaks volumes about how well the system is working for them,” the report reads.

The study’s data were drawn from the same Fraser Institute survey, which found that the average wait time in Canada for medically necessary treatment was nearly 29 weeks, more than triple the 1993 figure.

A Saskatchewan woman, Jolene Van Alstine, went as far as to sign up for Canada’s assisted suicide program due to the lack of endocrinologists available in her province to perform a surgery that could treat her rare parathyroid disorder.

American conservative commentator Glenn Beck offered to bring Alstine to Florida to receive the life-saving surgery. A report from the Toronto Sun confirmed that through the awareness raised over Alstine’s situation, she was able to receive consultations with specialists in Ontario and Florida and survived past her date with death originally scheduled on January 7.