Trust in Canadian Healthcare | 2026 Report

60% of Canadians say the healthcare system is deteriorating or in crisis. This report examines what's driving that loss of confidence, and what would rebuild it.

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How to Rebuild Canadians Trust in the Healthcare System

This report examines trust not simply as a theme, but as a diagnostic tool. It connects system-level pressures to the realities of people’s lived experience, reflecting how Canadians encounter the healthcare system day to day through wait times, workarounds, and the moments when care is accessible and when it is not.

Trust plays a functional role in how the system operates. When trust is strong, people are more likely to engage with care in ways that support better outcomes and system efficiency. When trust weakens, behaviours shift. People delay care, disengage, or make decisions based on what feels accessible or affordable rather than what is medically necessary. These shifts are already underway and they can be measured.

2026 healthcare report cover - doctor and patients

2026 Healthcare Trends

Drawing from the Canadian portion of the IRIS Global Confidence Study (survey of n=1,206 Canadians in Q4 2025) and the Environics Canadian Health Monitor (survey of n=1,509 Canadians in Q1 2026), this report explores three areas where trust is actively being shaped:

The Trust Gap

Confidence in Canada's healthcare system is being shaped by lived experience, including wait times, access barriers, and whether the system works when you need it. This section explores how Canadians rate the system today, what is driving confidence levels, how low trust is translating into real-world workarounds, and what people say would actually make a difference.

60% say that the healthcare system is deteriorating or in crisis.

Midlife Canadians, women, and those in Atlantic Canada and Quebec are the most likely to believe the system is in crisis.

Canadians are more likely to blame how the system is managed than how much money it has.

Pathways to Trust

For most Canadians, getting care is not a straight line. It is marked by waits, workarounds, and the need to self-advocate. This section looks at where Canadians turn when traditional access points do not work, the navigation burden that breaks trust, including extra steps, repeated effort, and dead ends, and how that experience of access and trust differs across region, ethnicity, and income.

14% couldn’t get an appointment when they needed it.

People in Quebec report higher reliance on emergency rooms for care (18% vs. 13% Canadian average).

18% of Canadians did not take prescribed medication, over the counter medication or medical devices/supplies because of cost.

Trust in the Era of Infinite Information

Canadians are navigating a crowded health information environment, and not all sources carry the same credibility. This section covers who Canadians trust for health information and who they do not, how that trust differs across age, income, and community, and how it is shifting as AI and digital health tools become more mainstream.

Government and public health are still trusted — but less so than clinicians.

Social platforms and creators are least trusted and not seen as credible health authorities for the Canadian population overall.

Only 27% of people trust AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or health chatbots either "a lot" or "some."

Opportunities to Build Trust

For organizations and decision-makers, this report is designed to make these patterns visible. It highlights where trust is being reinforced, where it is breaking down, and where there is opportunity to rebuild confidence in meaningful, measurable ways.