Access to health care (2024)

The publicly funded health care system is part of Canada’s national identity. This section looks at primary health care—the first point of contact with the health care system for most people.

7.0 Access to a regular health care provider

A regular health care provider is a health professional that a person sees or talks to when they need care or advice about their health. This can include a family doctor or general practitioner, medical specialist, or nurse practitioner. In 2021, while most Canadians (85.5%) had a regular health care provider, 4.7million Canadians (14.4%) did not have one.

The percentage of those with access to a regular health care provider was significantly lower in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories compared with the rest of Canada (Chart 7.0). This corresponds to a significantly lower number of physicians per capita in these two jurisdictions.^{Note 69}

In 2019, more than three-quarters (76.7%) of children aged 1 to 11 had required or received the services of a family doctor, general practitioner, or pediatrician in the previous 12 months. A lower proportion of men aged 18 to 34 reported having a regular health care provider compared with women in the same age group and with all other age groups.

In 2021, a lower proportion of First Nations people living off reserve (81.2%) reported having a regular health care provider compared with non-Indigenous people (85.7%). A lower proportion of people who identified as bisexual or pansexual (77.4%) reported the same compared with heterosexual Canadians (85.6%). Meanwhile, a higher proportion of Canadians in the highest income quintile (88.0%) reported having a regular health care provider compared with those in the lowest income quintile (81.5%). The proportion of Canadians who reported having a regular health care provider also varied across racialized groups, from 71.7% among Latin American people to 89.8% among Filipino people (Chart 7.1).

8.0 Wait time for a minor health problem

Among Canadians who had a regular health care provider, 58.3% reported waiting three days or less to see them or another provider from the same office for a minor problem in 2021 (Chart 8.0). This proportion varied across the country, with fewer Canadians in Nova Scotia (31.9%) and New Brunswick (38.3%) than the rest of Canada reporting waiting three days or less to see their regular health care provider (Chart 8.0).

A higher proportion of people aged 12 to 17 reported waiting three days or less to see their regular health care provider for a minor problem compared with all other age categories (Chart 8.1). Additionally, a higher proportion of males (60.4%) than females (56.5%) reported waiting three days or less to see their regular health care provider, and this was consistent across all age categories except ages 50 to 64 (Chart 8.1).

Lower proportions of Canadians aged 15 and older who identified as gay or lesbian (48.1%) and bisexual or pansexual (45.6%) reported wait times of three days or less to see their regular health care provider compared with heterosexual Canadians (58.4%).

9.0 Unmet health care needs

While 85.5% of Canadians reported having a regular health care provider in 2021, almost 2.5million people (7.9% of Canadians) reported unmet health care needs. This proportion varied across provinces, with a higher share of respondents in the Atlantic provinces (10.7%) having unmet needs compared with the rest of Canada (Chart 9.0). Females (8.9%) were more likely than males (6.9%) to report unmet health care needs.

10.0 Use of home care services

Home care services enable people of all ages, but particularly older adults, to receive care in their homes rather than in a facility such as a hospital or long-term care facility.^{Note 70} Home care services are defined as services (e.g., nursing or health care, medical equipment or supplies, and help with personal care or other services such as transportation) received in the home because of a health condition or limitation in daily activities. They do not include help from family, friends, or neighbours. These types of services reduce pressure on the health care system and allow limited hospital resources to be directed to other uses.

Home care services may also reduce pressure on those who provide informal care to their family members—one in four Canadians reported providing care and support to someone with a long-term health condition, disability, or problems related to aging.^{Note 70}

In 2021, approximately 946,000 Canadians in the provinces used home care services, corresponding to 3.2% of the population (Chart 10.0). Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec had higher rates of home care service use than the rest of the provinces (Chart 10.0).

The proportion of Canadians aged 65 and older reporting home care service use (8.4%) was almost eight times higher than that of Canadians aged 18 to 34 (1.1%; use with caution) (Chart 10.1). Females were more likely than males to use home care services across all age groups except ages 50 to 64 (Chart 10.1).

The proportion of people who used home care services was highest among Canadians in the lowest household income quintile (6.2%) compared with those in the highest household income quintile (2.2%). The relationship between income and home care service use holds not only at the individual level, but also at the community level. A higher proportion of Canadians living in suburban neighbourhoods of low socioeconomic status reported using home care services compared with other neighbourhood types.^{Note 71}

11.0 Unmet home care needs

While almost 1million Canadians reported using home care services in 2021, not all Canadians who needed these services could access them or received all the services they needed.

In 2021, among Canadians who accessed home care services, approximately 475,000 people (1.6% of the Canadian population) reported unmet home care needs, and this varied across provinces.

Unmet home care needs were highest among Canadians aged 65 and older, and they were higher among females across all age groups. Unmet needs were greatest for First Nations people living off reserve (3.1%; use with caution) compared with 1.7% (use with caution) for Métis and 1.4% for non-Indigenous people.

The percentage of people in the provinces reporting unmet needs for home care was higher for those in the lowest income quintile (3.3%) compared with the highest income quintile (0.5%; use with caution) (Chart 11.0).

ISSN: 2818-3495

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2023

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Catalogue no.82-570-X

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