A new survey indicates nearly six in 10 Canadians support reforming the public health care system, including using private clinics to address delays in timely care.

SecondStreet.org and Leger polled over 1,600 adults nationwide on five health care reform options based on "better-performing" universal systems globally (Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Australia, Germany, Japan), as reported by the Epoch Times.

“Overall, these numbers are similar to past public opinion research, namely by showing that the public generally supports moving forward with reform that allows for more choice in terms of options available to patients and the structure of the system itself,” said SecondStreet.org president Colin Craig and research director Bacchus Barua.

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59% of Canadians support government funding for non-government clinics to offer services that reduce public system wait times, an approach many provinces used during the pandemic to address backlogs. Twenty-three percent oppose funding private clinics, and 18% are undecided.

Older Canadians (64% of those 55+) and women (62%) showed the strongest support for government funding of non-government clinics. Support was lower among those aged 35–54 (57%) and 18–34 (53%), and among men (55%).

Support for funding private clinics was strong nationally, with Québec showing the highest favourability at 68%, closely followed by Atlantic Canada (62%). British Columbia was the least supportive, though still in favour at 51%.

The report's authors attributed Québec's high support level to the regular use of specialized medical centres since 2005. That year, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a provincial law prohibiting private health insurance for publicly-covered services. These centres provide services like diagnostic imaging and specialist consultations.

Canada's highest court refused to hear an April 6 appeal on access to private healthcare, despite Québecers having such access while other provinces do not.

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59% of Canadians also favour maintaining the public system while allowing patients to use their money or extended health insurance for timely private clinic care. 28% opposed this, and 14% were undecided.

This option showed a smaller divide across gender and age, while Québec again showed the most inclination to support this model, with 65% of respondents in favour compared to the national average of 57%.

National support is down overall from 2022 (62%) and 2024 (61%) surveys, which backed patients' option to pay out of pocket.

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Respondents were asked if hospitals should be compensated throughout the year for services or receive a lump sum at the start of the year.

The authors stated that under this system, a hospital could receive, for instance, $15,000 for a knee operation or $25,000 for a hip operation. This "modern approach," used by most universal healthcare systems, especially in Europe, encourages health providers to treat more patients.

The poll indicated that 56% of Canadians support a pay-per-service funding model for hospitals and clinics, where payments are adjusted for service complexity. This model was opposed by 23%, with 22% undecided.

The pay-per-service option was supported by a majority of Canadian respondents across all age groups and genders.

Support was highest in Ontario (57%) and lowest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (53%). Older Canadians (59% for those over 55) showed slightly higher support than younger groups (53% for those 54 and under), but nearly equal between genders (56% for men, 55% for women).