More than five million Canadian adults don't have primary-care provider: report

Surgical backlogs that happened during the COVID pandemic have decreased and the number of surgeries performed has mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, the CIHI report says

TORONTO — A new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information says 83 per cent of adults in this country have a regular primary-care provider, but that still leaves 5.4 million adults without one.

Seniors 65 years and older are more likely to have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner than younger adults between 18 and 34, and access to primary care is highest in Ontario and lowest in Nunavut, the CIHI report released Thursday says.