Weekly ER Capacity Report — Quebec — April 20 to April 26, 2026

Key Metrics

Provincial average ER capacity: 86.8% Same week previous year: 83.4% Previous week: 90.0%

Average patients waiting more than 24 hours: 4.9 Average patients waiting more than 48 hours: 1.6

Highest reported capacity during the week: 300% Lowest reported capacity during the week: 0%

Time Window

This analysis covers:

• Current week: April 20 → April 26, 2026
• Previous week: April 13 → April 19, 2026
• Same week last year: April 20 → April 26, 2025

Provincial Overview

Emergency departments across Quebec reported slightly higher overall crowding during the week of April 20–26, 2026 compared with the same week one year earlier.

The provincial average capacity reached 86.8%, compared with 83.4% during the same period in 2025. Indicators associated with longer emergency department stays also moved upward on a year-over-year basis. The average number of patients waiting more than 24 hours increased from 4.4 to 4.9, while the average waiting more than 48 hours rose from 1.4 to 1.6.

Taken together, these indicators suggest a moderate increase in overall system load compared with last year, though the change remains within a relatively narrow range.

Week-Over-Week Change

Comparing the week of April 20–26 with the immediately preceding week shows a decline in overall capacity levels.

The provincial average decreased from 90.0% to 86.8%, while the number of patients waiting more than 24 hours declined slightly from 5.1 to 4.9. Patients waiting more than 48 hours also edged down from 1.7 to 1.6.

Short-term shifts of this nature are consistent with normal operational variation rather than structural changes in system performance.

Regional Standouts

While provincial averages moved modestly, regional patterns continued to vary.

Largest Year-Over-Year Improvements

Several regions reported lower capacity compared with the same week last year, indicating reduced crowding.

• Outaouais reported a decline from 98.6% to 73.8%
• Estrie declined from 81.1% to 60.4%

These changes were accompanied by reductions in prolonged waits, reflecting lower reported demand during the period.

Regions With Increased Pressure

Other regions reported higher capacity levels year over year.

• Côte-Nord increased from 58.5% to 75.5%
• Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Québec rose from 70.5% to 86.8%

In these regions, increases in capacity were generally accompanied by higher counts of patients experiencing extended stays.

Mixed Signals

Some regions showed mixed patterns, where capacity increased while prolonged waits remained stable or declined, or vice versa. This variation highlights how emergency department pressure can shift unevenly across the province, even when overall averages change only slightly.

Data Coverage

This analysis includes emergency department reporting across 16 Quebec administrative health regions.

Coverage for April 20–26, 2026 includes:

• Regions analyzed: 16
• Emergency department installations: 115
• Total records analyzed: 17,465

Comparison period (April 20–26, 2025):

• Installations: 114
• Records analyzed: 8,202

One region listed administratively reported no installation data during the period. One northern region reported data in the current period but not in the comparison week, resulting in a minor difference in coverage.

The dataset was otherwise complete for the available regional summaries.

Methodology

This article summarizes reported emergency department operational metrics across Quebec for two matching seven-day periods and the preceding week.

Provincial averages are calculated as record-weighted means across all reporting installations. Reported maximum and minimum capacity values represent the highest and lowest readings recorded anywhere in Quebec during the analyzed week.

Capacity percentages and prolonged-stay counts represent reported operational load only and should not be interpreted as measures of clinical safety.

Informational Use Statement

This summary is based on publicly reported emergency department data and is provided for informational purposes only.