Montreal ER Capacity Trends: February 11–17, 2026

Overview

Between February 11 and February 17, 2026, emergency departments across Montréal reported elevated capacity levels. In this article, “capacity” refers to the number of patients being treated compared to the number of staffed beds available.

Data from 21 emergency department installations in the Montréal region show that capacity remained high for much of the week. While some sites reported modest declines over the weekend, several larger hospitals saw capacity increase again on February 16 and 17.

These figures describe reported operational load, including the number of patients remaining in the emergency department for extended periods.

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Key Findings

The figures below highlight the most significant numerical findings reported during the week.

During this seven-day period:

• Several large hospitals reported daily average capacity levels above 150% on multiple days.
• The highest single daily average capacity recorded during the week was 217.6% on February 17 at Hôpital général juif – Jewish General Hospital.
• The number of patients who had been in the emergency department for more than 24 hours reached 36.3 at Hôpital Glen on February 11.
• The number of patients over 48 hours peaked at 22.1 on February 11.

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Week-by-Week Trend

February 11–13

In the first half of the week, capacity levels at several major referral hospitals remained consistently elevated, showing little short-term change. This indicates that the number of patients being treated remained well above the number of staffed beds available during this period.

Some hospitals also reported higher numbers of patients who had been in the emergency department for more than 24 or 48 hours.

February 14–15

Over the weekend, some hospitals reported moderate decreases in capacity. However, levels remained elevated at several sites, and variation across the region continued.

February 16–17

At the beginning of the new week, capacity levels increased again at multiple larger hospitals. February 17 recorded the highest single-site daily average capacity of the period (217.6%).

Overall, this reflects a renewed increase in reported operational load following the brief moderation observed during the weekend.

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Variation Across Hospitals

Differences in capacity between hospitals are important because they show that system pressure is not evenly distributed across the region.

Capacity levels varied widely between installations:

• Some smaller hospitals reported daily averages below 60% on certain dates.
• Several larger referral hospitals reported sustained levels above 150%.
• The gap between lower-capacity and higher-capacity sites remained wide throughout the week.

This variation reflects differences in reported patient volume and staffed bed availability across hospitals within the same regional network.

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Data Coverage and Methodology

• Date range analyzed: February 11–17, 2026
• Region: Montréal
• Installations included: 21
• Total daily installation records analyzed: 147

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Informational Use Statement

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