ER Wait Times: Frequently Asked Questions

Search for a hospital by name, abbreviation, city or postal code, or use your location to see the closest sites that publish a wait. Each hospital page shows the current wait, when it was last checked, opening hours, who the ER treats and how to get there.

Yes it is. There are no accounts, no sign-up and no fees.

They are estimates published by the health system, not guarantees. Waits change quickly as new patients arrive, and people with the most urgent needs are always seen first, so your own wait may be shorter or longer than the number shown.

The provider's publication schedule and our checking schedule are separate. A successful check does not mean the provider has published a new estimate. Each listing shows the available update or check timestamp. Freshness limits vary by source; numbers older than their source's limit are marked as possibly out of date. The table below shows publication and checking frequencies. Our methodology lists the freshness limit for each source.

Source: Methodology and freshness limits

Alberta Health Services describes it this way: 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.

Source: Official metric definition

Halton Healthcare describes it this way: Estimated wait time to see a physician in the Emergency Department. Halton Healthcare updates it every 15 minutes.

Source: Official metric definition

London Health Sciences Centre describes it this way: The most current estimate of how long it will take for non-urgent and non-emergent patients to be seen, from assessment by a triage nurse until they are seen by a doctor. It does not include time for specialized care such as imaging, or time in hospital if a patient is admitted. LHSC estimates it from data in its health information system.

Source: Official metric definition

LHSC Children's Hospital describes it this way: An estimate of how long it will take for non-urgent and non-emergent children and youth to be seen, from assessment by a triage nurse until they are seen by a doctor. LHSC updates it every 15 minutes.

Source: Official metric definition

Brant Community Healthcare System describes it this way: The time between when you are greeted or triaged and the first time you see a physician. BCHS says 90% of its patients will see a physician in this amount of time, and updates it every 15 minutes.

Source: Official metric definition

BCHS Willett Urgent Care Centre describes it this way: The wait time indicator is an estimate of the current wait time for a new patient. BCHS notes that the unpredictable nature of the clinic may result in longer wait times for individual patients.

Source: Official metric definition

WRHN @ Midtown / WRHN @ Queen's Blvd. describe it this way: An estimate of how long you may wait, from arrival, to see a doctor or nurse practitioner. WRHN updates it every hour. Patients are seen based on how sick they are, not in the order they arrive, so it may change if patients with more serious needs arrive.

Source: Official metric definition

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority / WRHA Urgent Care describe it this way: The time in hours between being registered and seeing a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Due to rapidly changing demands and the need to see the sickest patients first, WRHA notes that your own wait time may be more or less than the time displayed.

Source: Official metric definition; Official metric definition

WRHA HSC Children's Emergency describes it this way: The time in hours between being registered and seeing a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Due to rapidly changing demands and the need to see the sickest patients first, WRHA notes that your own wait time may be more or less than the time displayed.

Source: Official metric definition

Niagara Health describes it this way: Niagara Health's estimate of the time from checking in with the triage nurse to being seen by a doctor or nurse practitioner, based on how long patients have waited over the last six hours. It is shown to the nearest half hour, updated about every five minutes, and is not a guarantee of how long you will wait.

Source: Official metric definition

edwaittimes.ca describes it this way: 'Wait Time' is the time it takes for almost all patients – 9 out of every 10 who visit the ED – to be seen by a physician. This is also known as the 90th percentile and is the time in which 90% of all people seeking care will be seen. Some people, about 10%, may have to wait longer than this time. Wait time refers to the length of time between being assessed by a triage nurse and seeing a doctor or nurse practitioner.

Source: Official metric definition

Hamilton Emergency Wait Times describes it this way: The length of time between when you arrive to the front desk to check in and when you see a doctor. It is calculated by averaging the time that each patient has waited over the last six hours and is updated automatically every 15 minutes. Patients are triaged with the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale and the sickest are seen first, so your own wait may be shorter or longer.

Source: Official metric definition

Windsor Regional Hospital emergency wait times describes it this way: The length of time between being assessed by a triage nurse and seeing a doctor or nurse practitioner, shown as an average. Windsor Regional Hospital says the most critical patients are seen first, so an individual's wait may be much shorter or longer than the average. Erie Shores HealthCare, which appears in the same feed, describes its figure as an estimate from being assessed at triage to being seen by a physician. Updated about every 15 minutes.

Source: Official metric definition

Some sites do not publish a wait estimate, and urgent care centres stop publishing one close to closing time. We show exactly what the source says instead of guessing a number.

There is no single current wait for all Canadian emergency departments. CIHI reports that in 2024–2025, half of patients waited just under 2 hours for initial physician assessment: this is the median, not the arithmetic mean. Around 1 in 10 waited more than 5 hours, describing the upper end of the distribution around the 90th percentile. These historical national figures are not today's local prediction and do not measure the total length of an emergency visit. Patients with the most urgent needs are seen first.

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2024–2025

It depends on the hospital and the day. Once we have 14 days of history for a site, its page shows the hours when its wait is usually shortest. These are past averages, not predictions, so always check the current wait.

Call 911 for anything life-threatening. Go to an emergency department for serious problems that need a hospital. Urgent care centres treat problems that are not life-threatening but need care the same day. If you're not sure, call Health Link (811), HealthLink BC (811), Health Links – Info Santé (204-788-8200) and Health811 (811) to talk to a registered nurse.

Not currently. We track emergency departments and urgent care centres using official public data. We do not currently collect walk-in clinic wait times. Contact the clinic directly for its hours, services and current availability.

Call 911 for chest pain or pressure, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, trouble breathing, a serious injury, or someone who will not wake up. Don't drive yourself, and don't wait to check a wait time.

Call Health Link (811), HealthLink BC (811), Health Links – Info Santé (204-788-8200) and Health811 (811) to talk to a registered nurse, any time of day. They can help you decide whether you need an ER, urgent care or another option.

No. ERWaitTimes.ca shows official wait times and facts about each site, but it doesn't recommend where to go and isn't medical advice. The closest ER isn't always the quickest, and the triage nurse decides who is seen first.

Only from official public sources: currently Niagara Health, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, WRHN @ Queen's Blvd., London Health Sciences Centre, WRHA HSC Children's Emergency, LHSC Children's Hospital, WRHA Urgent Care, edwaittimes.ca, Brant Community Healthcare System, WRHN @ Midtown, Halton Healthcare, BCHS Willett Urgent Care Centre, Windsor Regional Hospital emergency wait times, Hamilton Emergency Wait Times and Alberta Health Services. Every page names its source. ERWaitTimes.ca is independent and not affiliated with any health authority.

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario are live now, with 99 emergency departments and urgent care centres. More provinces and territories are being added as official wait time data becomes available.

No. There are no accounts and we set no cookies. If you use your location or a postal code to find nearby ERs, it is used once to sort the list and never saved.