The Care Radius Report

For many Canadians, getting care isn't as simple as booking an appointment and showing up. It can mean long waits, a drive to the nearest specialist, or piecing together a plan on your own when there's no family doctor to call. We wanted to understand what that really looks like day-to-day, so we surveyed over 1,000 Canadian adults about how they find care, how far they go for it, and when they'd rather handle it online.

Key takeaways

• For 1 in 5 Canadians, getting the care they need is a struggle they piece together themselves, not a system that simply works.
• About 1 in 5 Canadians (21%) have no family doctor.
• The top 3 barriers to healthcare are long appointment waits (64%), long ER waits (59%), and a shortage of specialists or doctors (43%).
• Specialist care is the country's farthest reach, with over half of Canadians (54%) traveling 30 minutes or more, and this rises to 76% among rural residents.
• More than 1 in 4 Canadians (27%) have moved or seriously considered moving for better healthcare access.
• 48% of rural residents say their location puts them at a disadvantage in accessing healthcare, while only 15% of urban residents say the same.
• About 3 in 5 Canadians (61%) worry about how quickly they could reach care in an emergency, and 55% have already delayed or skipped care because it was too hard to get.
• 2 in 3 Canadians (65%) believe cities have easier access to weight loss treatments than rural areas.

Getting care in Canada often means working around the system

For some Canadians, getting medical care isn't simple. It's a workaround they manage on their own.

Here's what Canadians told us about the day-to-day reality of getting care:

• Nearly half of Canadians (48%) waited longer than a week for their last routine appointment, though only 23% consider anything beyond a week reasonable.
• Long distances rank near the bottom of the barrier list (18%), far behind long appointment waits (64%) and emergency-room waits (59%).
• Calling care a workaround or nearly impossible varies across working-age groups: Gen Z (18%), millennials (22%), Gen X (23%), and baby boomers (12%).
• Not having a family doctor fell with age, from 23% of Gen Z and 22% of millennials to 17% of Gen X and 10% of baby boomers.
• Emergency-room waits are the top barrier for baby boomers (66%), compared with Gen Z (57%), millennials (60%), and Gen X (58%).
• 36% of rural residents say that half or more of their care feels out of reach (36%), while fewer urban (21%) and suburban (20%) residents say the same.
• Long distances are a barrier for 36% of rural residents, but just 16% of urban and 18% of suburban residents.
• Long routine waits aren't a rural problem: waiting more than a month ran 15% urban, 14% suburban, and 12% rural.
• Among the four largest provinces, Quebec has the highest share without a family doctor (38%), followed by Ontario (19%), British Columbia (17%), and Alberta (17%).

Some Canadians are ready to move for better access

When care feels out of reach, a surprising number of Canadians have considered moving, and rural residents feel the squeeze most.

The findings show how access shapes big life decisions:

• More than 1 in 3 Canadians (37%) agree that you have to be wealthy to easily access quality care outside a major metro area.
• Worry about emergency speed is steady across settings (64% urban, 56% suburban, 63% rural), so the anxiety appears national rather than rural alone.
• Relocating or considering it peaks among millennials (31%), followed by Gen Z (27%), Gen X (21%), and baby boomers (10%).
• Delaying or skipping care fell with age, from 59% of Gen Z and 57% of millennials to 47% of Gen X and 36% of baby boomers.
• 76% of rural residents, 57% of suburban, and 49% of urban residents travel 30 minutes or more for specialist care.
• Among the four largest provinces, Ontario has the highest share of residents traveling 30 minutes or more for specialist care (60%), followed by Quebec (55%), British Columbia (52%), and Alberta (45%).
• Quebec residents are the most likely to have moved or considered moving (29%), compared with Ontario (26%), Alberta (26%), and British Columbia (24%).

For weight loss treatment, many Canadians expect to go online

Weight loss treatment is where geography and the internet meet, and most Canadians think cities have the edge.

On weight loss treatment and telehealth, Canadians told us:

• Only 21% of Canadians say getting weight loss treatment where they live feels out of reach, yet 65% believe people in cities have the advantage, a clear perception gap.
• Nearly 3 in 10 Canadians who have used or considered telehealth (28%) say it feels more private or discreet.
• The belief that city residents can access weight loss treatments more easily is highest among Gen Z (70%), followed by millennials (65%), baby boomers (62%), and Gen X (54%).
• Openness to using telehealth for weight loss treatment by generation: Gen Z (34%), millennials (41%), Gen X (41%), and baby boomers (34%).
• Rural residents are slightly more comfortable using telehealth for weight loss treatment (43%) than urban and suburban residents (each at 40%).
• Difficulty accessing weight loss treatment is similar across settings, at 30% rural, 29% urban, and 27% suburban, which points to the availability of the treatment rather than distance.

Methodology

MedExpress commissioned an online survey of 1,049 Canadian adults in 2026 to explore attitudes, behaviours, and personal experiences related to healthcare access, including how far people travel for care, appointment and wait times, family-doctor access, willingness to relocate for better access, weight loss treatment, and the use of telehealth. Respondents were screened for valid and unique participation. Generationally, respondents were 46% millennials, 34% Gen Z, 14% Gen X, and 5% baby boomers.

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