Get ready. The summer strain on the health care system is real

Press Release

July 11, 2025

The summer strain on the health care system is real, and we’ve been experiencing it for far too long.

This year, Doctors Manitoba has already warned that the majority of hospitals in rural Manitoba Opens in a new window “won’t have their ERs open 24/7 this summer.” They noted an additional challenge this year: Many Canadians are avoiding the U.S. and choosing to travel closer to home, which could put even more pressure on the health care system.

Already last year we hit new lows in some parts of the country. According to one analysis by CBC News Opens in a new window, one in five Ontario hospitals with an ER or urgent care centre experienced unplanned shutdowns in 2024.

At a time of critical staffing shortages, the health system also faces the impact of extreme temperatures in many parts of the country, as well as rapidly spreading wildfires and air quality concerns Opens in a new window. Earlier this year, wildfires in Saskatchewan led to dozens of patients being airlifted amid evacuation orders Opens in a new window.

The climate crisis is a health crisis. Read more on the CMA’s work on climate and health

All of this puts patients at increased risks and can lead to burnt out physicians and potentially life-threatening hospital closures — of particular concern in northern and remote areas Opens in a new window where it can already take hours to reach an ER.

There are solutions to address these challenges. When the premiers meet in Ontario’s cottage country in July to discuss matters of common concern, Canadians need to hold them accountable for action on health.

Likewise, the new federal government has promised to tackle many of the issues affecting our health care system with solutions put forward by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). We’re looking to them to turn promises into tangible policy change to improve the system we all depend on.

Solutions include:

• Increasing capacity in our health systems by retaining and training more medical professionals, and making it easier for doctors to work across provincial and territorial borders
• Fast-tracking the process for doctors trained in other countries to practise in Canada
• Eliminating unnecessary administrative pressures in the health care system, such as reducing mandatory sick notes
• Adopting team-based care to help primary doctors focus on what they do best and improve access for the more than 6.5 million patients without primary care
• Prioritizing and advancing Indigenous health
• Creating a national readiness plan and support for climate-resilient health care

Let’s call on all levels of government to create a more reliable health care system — for every season of the year.

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