Alberta ER Wait Times

24 hospital ERs, including 3 children's ERs plus 5 urgent care centres across 7 communities in Alberta. Browse by city for available wait times, hours and directions.

26 of 29 reportingSource: official sources

Right now· Estimated wait to see a physician

23 of 25 ERs reporting

Typical wait4 hr 24 minMedian across reporting ERs
Shortest wait1 hr 1 minChinook Regional HospitalLongest wait8 hr 8 minMisericordia Community Hospital
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Edmonton area ER wait times

All Edmonton ER wait times

Calgary area ER wait times

All Calgary ER wait times

Other Alberta hospitals

Alberta urgent care wait times

Urgent care is for problems that are not life-threatening; these waits are never ranked against ERs.

All urgent care wait times

Alberta ER wait times by city

About emergency care in Alberta

Alberta's public hospitals and emergency departments are overseen by Acute Care Alberta, the provincial agency for hospital, urgent and emergency care. Alberta Health Services runs 88 of the province's 98 hospitals, as well as its urgent care centres; Covenant Health runs others, including the Grey Nuns and Misericordia hospitals in Edmonton.

AHS publishes an estimated wait for emergency departments and urgent care centres in and around Alberta's larger cities, recalculated every 2 minutes. Most rural emergency departments are not on that list. In 2025 the province replaced the five AHS zones with seven regional health corridors, which is how the sites on this page are grouped.

Sources: albertahealthservices.ca (PDF), open.alberta.ca (PDF), AHS wait times, alberta.ca, Wikipedia

ER, urgent care or walk-in clinic?

  • Emergency department

    Serious problems that need a hospital, any time: broken bones, deep cuts, severe pain, or a fever in a baby under 3 months.

  • Urgent care

    Problems that are not life-threatening but need care today: sprains, minor cuts and burns, infections. Hours are often limited.

  • Walk-in clinics

    Minor problems such as colds, sore throats, rashes or prescription refills are often quicker here.

Not sure where to go?

Call Health Link at 811 to talk to a nurse. About Health Link

Call 811

Call 911

Chest pain or pressure, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, trouble breathing, a serious injury, or someone who will not wake up.

Call 911

Alberta ER wait time questions

What is the shortest ER wait in Alberta right now?

At 6:25 pm MDT, the shortest published ER wait was Chinook Regional Hospital at 1 hour 1 minute. The median across 23 reporting ERs was 4 hours 24 minutes. Numbers change through the day, so check the list above before you go.

How are Alberta ER wait times calculated?

Alberta Health Services publishes "Estimated wait to see a physician": An estimate of how long it might take from an assessment by a triage nurse in the emergency department or urgent care to being seen by a physician. It does not represent the total time patients may spend at the hospital, and it does not apply to critically ill or injured patients, who are always seen quickly.

These measures can differ in their starting point and statistic. Compare estimates within the same measurement group. Patients with the most urgent needs are seen first.

Source: Alberta Health Services

How often are Alberta ER wait times updated?

Providers publish estimates on different schedules. Our checks are separate from those updates, and the displayed number may stay the same after a check. Each listing shows its available timestamp; check the source-specific frequencies below.

Publication and checking frequencies
SourceProvider updatesOur checks
Alberta Health ServicesAbout every 2 minutesEvery 5 minutes

Is there a children's ER in Alberta?

Yes: Alberta Children's Hospital, South Health Campus and Stollery Children's Hospital. Children's emergency departments see children and teens; adults should go to an adult or all-ages ER. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

Do all ERs listed on this Alberta page publish wait times?

No. Innisfail Health Centre and Lacombe Hospital are listed without a published wait; their pages show the nearest tracked sites that do publish one.

Should I go to urgent care or the ER in Alberta?

Call 911 for anything life-threatening. An emergency department is for serious problems that need a hospital. Urgent care treats problems that are not life-threatening but need care the same day, and its waits are listed separately. If you are not sure where to go, call Health Link at 811 for advice from a nurse.

More Alberta wait times

Photo credits (14)
  • Stollery Children's Hospital: photo by RhPAP, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • University of Alberta Hospital: photo by WinterE229 WinterforceMedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Royal Alexandra Hospital: photo by Ian Stumpf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Leduc Community Hospital: photo by SmolBrane, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Grey Nuns Community Hospital: photo by Johntwrl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital: photo by Matthew Boonstra, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Alberta Children's Hospital: photo by Thivierr, stiched by Qyd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • South Health Campus: photo by JMacPherson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Rockyview General Hospital: photo by Chuck Szmurlo, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Foothills Medical Centre: photo by Thivierr, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Peter Lougheed Centre: photo by Thivierr, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre: photo by Koppertone, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Medicine Hat Regional Hospital: photo by Koppertone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre: photo by Yolanda Lie (Likeliehood), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Medical emergency? Call 911 now.

Do not check wait times or drive yourself if you have chest pain, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding or trouble breathing. Paramedics can start treatment on the way to hospital.

Call 911