Thousands of Canadians are making more than 100 trips to their family doctor each year and in at least one case, a Quebec patient managed to clock 362 appointments in a single year, roughly one visit per day.
That figure comes from a newly released policy brief by think tank SecondStreet.org, which combed through government health data obtained under Freedom of Information laws. The report zeros in on patients with unusually high appointment volumes across several provinces in 2024, and what it found raises serious questions about how Canada’s already-strained primary care system is being used and potentially misused.
The timing of this report couldn’t be more pointed. Canada is currently grappling with a family doctor shortage of historic proportions, with roughly 5.9 million Canadians unable to find a regular physician. Against that backdrop, data showing thousands of patients consuming healthcare resources at extraordinary rates is bound to spark debate.
SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig, who authored the report, put it plainly: “Considering millions of Canadians don’t have a family doctor, addressing abuse could help improve access.”
He was careful to note, however, that not every high-volume patient is gaming the system. “Some of these are likely legitimate cases where patients have unique health needs,” Craig said. “But there are likely cases of abuse too.”
Alberta stood out as the province with the largest sheer number of high-frequency patients. Nearly 26,000 residents 25,767 to be exact had more than 50 GP appointments last year, while over 9,000 crossed the 100-visit threshold. Craig noted, though, that Alberta likely applies a broader definition of what counts as an “appointment,” which may inflate comparisons with other provinces.
Quebec produced some of the most eye-catching individual cases in the country. The province had 11,586 people with more than 50 visits and 1,611 who surpassed 100. Its top ten patients each made between 295 and 362 visits in a single year the highest individual numbers recorded anywhere in Canada. In some instances, patients may have seen multiple doctors on the same day, each counting as a separate appointment.
British Columbia saw 14,497 residents make more than 50 visits and 241 exceed 100. The province’s single highest-use patient was seen 209 times. Notably, BC’s data includes visits not just to traditional GPs but also to physicians working in anesthesia and emergency medicine, though it excludes unscheduled ER visits and surgical procedures.
Ontario, despite being Canada’s most populous province, recorded comparatively fewer high-use patients 2,269 with more than 50 appointments and 184 who surpassed 100. However, the province’s top 10 users racked up between 218 and 347 visits each, placing them second only to Quebec nationally. Ontario’s numbers come with an important asterisk: a recent provincial auditor’s report flagged doctor billing irregularities, including practitioners who billed for more than 24 hours of work in a single day on multiple occasions.
In the Prairies, Manitoba had 560 patients with more than 50 appointments and 40 who exceeded 100. Saskatchewan, by contrast, showed only 31 patients in the 51–100 range and just one who went beyond that.
Atlantic Canada presented a mixed picture. New Brunswick led the region with 634 patients exceeding 50 appointments and 61 crossing the 100-visit mark. Newfoundland and Labrador had 153 patients at the 50-plus level, with three surpassing 100. Nova Scotia logged 91 patients above the 50-visit threshold, while Prince Edward Island recorded 91 patients in the 50–99 range, with none officially exceeding 100.
The report stops short of calling for sweeping punitive measures, but it does urge provincial governments to look more carefully at their billing oversight systems and explore policy mechanisms to rein in excessive healthcare demand.
“Provincial governments would be wise to examine their billing systems more closely and consider policy options to curb excessive demand,” Craig said. “If abuse is identified and addressed, then the system will have more resources to help patients with legitimate health problems.”
The challenge, the report acknowledges, is separating genuine medical need from overconsumption. Someone with a complex chronic illness might reasonably require frequent medical contact. But in a country where millions sit on waiting lists just to get a family doctor’s name on a roster, even a fraction of these high-volume visits being unnecessary represents a significant burden on a system that can ill afford it.
For now, the data paints a striking picture of two healthcare realities existing side by side in Canada: patients who can’t get through the door, and a small number who rarely seem to leave.
