These are the GTA hospitals with the longest wait times, according to a new study
Hospitals in the GTA have some of the longest wait times in the province, a new study has found.
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A new study ranking emergency department wait times at Canadian hospitals in 2024 has found that the median length of stay varies greatly by region, from two hours and 25 minutes in Newfoundland and Labrador to 5 hours and 23 minutes in Quebec.
Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are not included in the MEI report, which was released on Tuesday, as they did not provide the requested data by the time of publication, the report’s authors said.
Ontario falls on the lengthier side with a median wait time of exactly four hours, which is six minutes longer than in 2023 and 54-minutes more than what was recorded five years ago.
The longest emergency room stays in the province were observed at facilities in the East Health Region, which has wait times of four hours and 44 minutes, the North East Health Region (four hours and 14 minutes), and the Toronto Health Region (four hours and 13 minutes.)
“Having to spend long hours waiting in an emergency room may be the norm in Ontario, but in other developed countries, it isn’t,” said Krystle Wittevrongel, MEI’s director of research and a contributor to the report.
“These long wait times are not just numbers — they represent real Canadians who face delays in receiving critical care that cause needless pain or distress. In all the provinces, wait times are worse today than they were five years ago, a clear sign that our healthcare systems are struggling to provide their patients with timely access to care.”
(Photo from video)
For the most part, emergency room wait times in the report were measured by median, which is the middle point between the total “length of stay” from the moment a patient enters the emergency department and registers to when they leave, and what is known as the “time to physical assessment” – the amount of time between initial registration and/or triage and receiving an initial assessment by a physician or nurse practitioner. The authors of the report say this measure was preferred as it is less affected by extreme cases than a simple average and is more likely to represent the emergency room experiences of most Canadians. (Source: RVH)
Here is a look at GTA hospitals and how long you can expect to wait for an initial physician assessment, according to the report. (NOTE: The hospitals are presented in ascending order based on the length of their average wait times). THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Mackenzie Health’s Urgent Care Centre on Jane Street in Vaughan – 1 hour and 28 minutes (Google Maps image)
Trillium Health Partners – Queensway Health – 2 hours and 12 minutes
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/J.P. Moczulski)
William Osler Health System – Peel Memorial in Brampton – 2 hours and 21 minutes
(William Osler Health System/photo)
Mackenzie Health – Richmond Hill Hospital – 2 hours and 40 minutes
Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket – 2 hours and 51 minutes
(CTV News Barrie)
Scarborough Health Network’s Centenary Site – 3 hours and 1 minute
(SHN photo)
Oak Valley Health – Markham Stouffville Hospital – 3 hours and 10 minutes
(Oak Valley Health photo)
Unity Health Toronto – St Joseph’s – 3 hours and 37 minutes
William Osler Health System – Etobicoke Site – 3 hours and 54 minutes
North York General Hospital – 3 hours and 58 minutes
Scarborough Health Network’s Scarborough General Site – 3 hours and 58 minutes
(Wikimedia Commons/photo)
William Osler Health System – Civis Site in Brampton – 4 hours and 1 minute
(Google Maps image)
Toronto East Health Network – Michael Garron Hospital in East York – 4 hours and 8 minutes
Sinai Health System – Mount Sinai Hospital Site in Toronto – 4 hours and 8 minutes
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston)
Lakeridge Health – Oshawa Site – 4 hours and 9 minutes
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives)
Trillium Health Partners – Mississauga – 4 hours and 22 minutes
Humber River Health – Wilson Site in North York – 4 hours and 27 minutes
The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto – 4 hours and 41 minutes
(CTV News Toronto photo)
University Health Network – Western Site in Toronto – 4 hours and 42 minutes
Unity Health Toronto – St. Michael’s – 4 hours and 46 minutes
(UHN photo)
Lakeridge Health – Ajax Site – 4 hours and 51 minutes
(Lakeridge Health photo)
Trillium Health Partners – Credit Valley in Mississauga – 4 hours and 56 minutes
(Google maps image)
Halton Health Services Corp. – Oakville – 4 hours and 57 minutes
University Health Network - General Site in Toronto – 5 hours and 36 minutes
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has the longest emergency department wait time among Ontario’s 126 hospitals.
Located at 2075 Bayview Ave. in Toronto’s East York neighbourhood, the report found that Sunnybrook has a median emergency department length of stay in 2024 that was more than double the provincial average, clocking in at eight hours and 13 minutes.
(Craig Berry/CTV News Toronto)
In a statement, Sunnybrook said it take its “responsibility to patients very seriously and strives to provide outstanding and compassionate care.”
“As home to several complex care programs, including Canada’s largest trauma centre, we care for some of the sickest and most critically injured patients. The fact we treat so many high acuity patients means that those with less urgent medical needs sometimes take longer to be seen,” the hospital wrote.
Sunnybrook went on to say that improving its emergency department performance has been a “major focus” over the past year.
“In April 2024, 10 per cent of our patients waited nine hours or longer (90th percentile Physician Initial Assessment). In April 2025, that wait time dropped to 6 hours – a 33 per cent reduction in 90th percentile wait time,” it said.
“For the most critically ill and injured patients, the wait time is less than five minutes.”
The east Toronto hospital also noted that in addition to addressing long wait times, the median wait time improved from 3.6 hours to 2.9 hours for a 42 minute or 10 per cent improvement.
”Work continues and we are committed to continuing to drive down our ED wait times,” Sunnybrook said, adding that emergency departments across Canada continue to face issues like staffing pressures.
(Frank Gunn/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
