In August 2020, as the country experienced the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked Canadians about the health-care system. More than half (55 per cent) told us there are some good aspects of Canada’s health-care system, but many changes are required. We were three times more likely to talk to a Canadian who described the health-care system as working well but requiring minor changes (30 per cent) than to find an opinion in favour of rebuilding the system entirely because there is so much wrong with it (nine per cent).
Six years later, we still see 55 per cent of Canadians committed to the “middle” option in our survey: Canada’s health-care system has good features but requires many modifications. For the first time, equal proportions of Canadians think the system either works well and needs slight adjustments (20 per cent) or say a full rebuild is warranted (also 20 per cent).
This year, the notion of a complete overhaul of health care in Canada resonates with 24 per cent of women, 30 per cent of Atlantic Canadians and 30 per cent of Conservative party voters in the 2025 federal election.
While these numbers are clearly not enough to justify a federal campaign on the promise of health-care reform, they provide an opportunity to see how two groups that usually do not gravitate toward the federal Conservatives—women and Atlantic Canadians—would pay attention to proposals and plans that focus on medical service delivery.
We still see seven in 10 Canadians (70 per cent, down one point since May 2025) who are “very” or “moderately” confident that the health-care system would be there to provide the help and assistance they would need if they had to face an unexpected medical condition or disease.
Quebecers are most confident that the health-care system will be there for them (73 per cent), followed by Albertans and British Columbians (71 per cent each) and Ontarians (70 per cent). The proportions are lower in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (67 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (62 per cent).
At a time of economic uncertainty, only 20 per cent of Canadians (down four points) think the federal government should make cuts to health-care funding to reduce government debt, while 72 per cent disagree (up one point) with this idea.
The level of rejection to reduced budgets for medical services is particularly strong among Canadians aged 55 and over (85 per cent). There is little difference along political lines. Roughly one in four Canadians who voted for the Conservative party (26 per cent), the Liberal party (24 per cent) or the New Democratic Party (NDP) (also 24 per cent) in the April 2025 federal election think it is time to cut health-care funding.
More than a third of Canadians (37 per cent, up one point) believe health care in Canada would be better than it is now if it were run by the private sector—a proportion that rises to 43 per cent among men, 45 per cent among Canadians aged 18 to 34 and 46 per cent in Quebec.
When Canadians are asked to pinpoint the biggest problem facing the health-care system, 31 per cent (down four points) mention a shortage of doctors and nurses, while 28 per cent (up five points) cite long wait times. Two other issues are in double digits: bureaucracy and poor management (12 per cent, down four points) and inadequate resources and facilities (11 per cent, up two points).
A regional analysis makes it clear that no problem is affecting Canadians equally. The shortage of doctors and nurses reaches 45 per cent in Atlantic Canada, with B.C. next at 36 per cent. Long wait times reach 31 per cent in Alberta and 30 per cent in B.C. Bureaucracy and poor management stands at 17 per cent in both Alberta and Quebec.
Canadians might appear to be less interested in health care because of the significant emphasis being placed on housing, the economy and the United States. Still, the findings now show equal proportions of Canadians either thoroughly disenchanted with the system or defending it unreservedly. In any case, this newfound skepticism is not accompanied by an increased appetite towards privatization, which has remained stagnant since 2024.
