Weekly ER Capacity Report — Quebec — 2026-03-16 to 2026-03-22
Emergency department data across Quebec pointed to lower overall crowding compared with the same week one year earlier, although several regions continued to report elevated levels of operational demand.
Key Metrics
Provincial average ER capacity: 85.93% Same week previous year: 90.70%
Average patients waiting >24 hours: 4.87 Average patients waiting >48 hours: 1.64
Highest reported capacity during the week: 260%
Time Window
This analysis covers:
Current week: March 16, 2026 → March 22, 2026
Comparisons:
Previous week: March 9, 2026 → March 15, 2026 Same week last year: March 17, 2025 → March 23, 2025
Provincial Overview
Emergency departments across Quebec reported lower overall crowding during the week of March 16 to March 22, 2026 compared with the same week one year earlier.
Across all reporting regions, the provincial average emergency department capacity was 85.93%, compared with 90.70% during the same week in 2025.
Indicators associated with prolonged emergency department stays also moved lower. The average number of patients waiting more than 24 hours was 4.87, down from 5.34 one year earlier. The average number waiting more than 48 hours was 1.64, compared with 1.86 in the year-earlier period.
Taken together, these indicators point to moderately lower reported operational pressure at the provincial level, even as several regions continued to operate above full capacity on average.
Week-Over-Week Change
Comparing the week of March 16 to March 22, 2026 with the immediately preceding week (March 9 to March 15, 2026) shows relatively stable conditions overall.
The provincial average capacity edged down slightly from 86.84% to 85.93%.
During the same period:
- Patients waiting >24 hours: 4.81 → 4.87
- Patients waiting >48 hours: 1.67 → 1.64
These changes remain modest in scale, and are consistent with typical short-term variation rather than a broad shift in system-wide conditions.
Regional Standouts
While many regions reported lower average capacity compared with the same week in 2025, several regions stood out for either notable improvements or localized increases in pressure.
Largest Year-Over-Year Improvements
Laurentides reported one of the most significant declines in average capacity, falling to 102.7% from 128.8% during the same week last year.
Outaouais also recorded a notable reduction, with average capacity at 69.3%, down from 85.2%.
Additional regions showing improvement included:
- Abitibi-Témiscamingue: 64.8% (down from 78.4%)
- Estrie: 74.0% (down from 85.2%)
Regions With Increased Pressure
A smaller number of regions reported higher average capacity.
Lanaudière showed the largest increase, rising to 122.9% from 101.1% one year earlier. The region also reported higher levels of prolonged stays, with 14.7 patients waiting more than 24 hours, compared with 6.0 in the previous year.
Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Québec also reported higher average capacity, increasing to 86.1% from 76.7%.
More moderate increases were observed in:
- Côte-Nord: 67.8% (up from 61.0%)
- Laval: 157.2% (up from 153.3%)
Mixed Signals
Some regions continued to show mixed patterns.
Montérégie remained above full capacity at 117.2%, while improving from 126.2% one year earlier. Montréal showed a similar pattern, reporting 112.1%, down from 117.8%.
This variation highlights how emergency department pressure can shift unevenly across regions, even when provincial averages move in a consistent direction.
Data Coverage
This analysis includes emergency department reporting across Quebec for the week of March 16 to March 22, 2026.
Coverage includes:
- Regions analyzed: 16
- Emergency department installations: 115
- Total records analyzed: 19,197
Comparison period (March 17 to March 23, 2025):
- Installations: 114
- Records analyzed: 7,825
The dataset is complete for the current reporting period, although one region did not report data in the year-earlier comparison window, resulting in slightly lower coverage for that period.
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.