A new report by the Fraser Institute says Canadians had a median wait time of 20 weeks this year for medical treatment _ the longest yet recorded by the independent public-policy think tank.
The Fraser Institute says that 20-week wait time is double what Canadians experienced in 1993, when the organization began tracking delays for medically necessary elective treatments.
The study is based on a national survey of doctors and looks at total wait times across 12 specialties, from referral by a general practitioner, to consultation with a specialist, and then to the point of treatment.
Ontario recorded the shortest wait time at 15.6 weeks, up from just over 14 weeks in 2015, while New Brunswick recorded the longest wait time at almost 39 weeks.
For the fourth year in a row, British Columbia recorded an increase in wait times with the median now sitting at 25.2 weeks _ the longest ever measured in that province.
Among the various specialties, national wait times were longest for neurosurgery at almost 47 weeks and shortest for medical oncology at just under four weeks.