Quebec ER capacity rises above summer baseline while prolonged stays ease

Quebec emergency departments reported an average capacity of 85.6% from September 14 to 20, 2026, about four percentage points above the 81.6% average across the preceding 12 weeks.

The higher capacity did not come with a parallel week-over-week increase in prolonged stays. The average number of patients present for more than 24 hours declined slightly, as did the number present for more than 48 hours.

That divergence is the clearest signal in this week's data: reported ER capacity moved further above its recent summer baseline, while the prolonged-stay measures eased.

Capacity moved above recent summer levels

The latest week's 85.6% provincial average was up from 84.1% from September 7 to 13.

The longer comparison puts that increase in context. Reported capacity averaged about 80.9% from July 13 to August 9 and 81.7% from August 10 to September 6.

The September 14–20 result therefore stands above both recent four-week periods as well as the broader 12-week average.

The available comparison does not establish that this was a record or the highest-capacity week of the summer. The analysis covers enough recent history to establish the difference from the summer baseline, but not every individual historical week required for a record claim.

Most reporting regions moved higher, but the pattern was uneven

Nine of the 15 reporting regions recorded higher average capacity than the previous week.

The Laurentides rose from 117.6% to 130.4%, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean from 55.9% to 66.7%, and the Outaouais from 81.1% to 88.1%.

Several regions moved in the opposite direction. Laval fell from 160.7% to 136.3%, Montréal was nearly unchanged at 127.3% compared with 128.1%, and Capitale-Nationale declined from 74.9% to 69.8%.

Nine of the 15 reporting regions were also above their own averages for the preceding 12 weeks.

The provincial increase was therefore broad enough to extend beyond a handful of regions, but it was not uniform across Quebec.

Prolonged stays eased despite higher capacity

The average number of patients reported as present for more than 24 hours declined from 5.03 to 4.94 per reporting observation between September 7–13 and September 14–20.

For patients present more than 48 hours, the average declined from 1.89 to 1.75.

The longer comparison is more nuanced. The latest >24-hour average remained above the 4.59 average recorded across the preceding 12 weeks, while the >48-hour figure was close to its recent baseline of 1.67.

The result is therefore not simply a story of every ER indicator moving higher together. Capacity increased above recent summer levels while both prolonged-stay measures moved modestly lower from the previous week.

These figures describe reported operational conditions. They do not establish why the changes occurred and should not be interpreted as measures of clinical quality or safety.

About the data

This analysis covers reported Quebec emergency department data from Monday, September 14 through Sunday, September 20, 2026.

The current week includes 15 reporting regions, 107 installations and 17,957 reporting records. The previous week contained 17,960 records, providing closely comparable coverage.

Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Québec had no reporting records in the current week, the previous week or the preceding 12-week comparison period. The region was therefore excluded consistently rather than treated as having zero capacity.

Provincial averages were calculated across the retrieved reporting observations. The 12-week comparison period covers June 22 through September 13, 2026.

Capacity and prolonged-stay figures describe reported ER operational load. They do not measure care quality or clinical safety and should not be interpreted as a recommendation to use or avoid any particular facility.

This article is based on publicly reported healthcare data and is provided for informational purposes only.