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Quebec ER Capacity Report — July 6 to 12, 2026
Quebec emergency departments reported higher average capacity and more prolonged stays than during the matching seven-day period in 2025.
The difference represents a year-over-year increase of 3.5 percentage points in reported provincial capacity.
The 2026 analysis includes hourly reports from 107 emergency department facilities across 15 reporting health regions. A total of 16,148 records were analyzed.
Prolonged stays increased year over year
Emergency departments averaged 5.0 patients who had remained for more than 24 hours per report in 2026, compared with 3.9 patients during the matching period in 2025.
The average number of patients who had remained for more than 48 hours rose to 1.9 per report, from 1.2 one year earlier.
That represents an increase of 1.1 patients per report for stays exceeding 24 hours and 0.7 patients per report for stays exceeding 48 hours.
Together, the provincial figures point to higher reported operational load and more prolonged stays than during the same seven-day period one year earlier.
Capacity varied substantially during the week
The highest individual capacity reading recorded anywhere in Quebec during the 2026 period was 350%, at a facility in the Montréal region.
Individual readings represent conditions at a particular facility and reporting time rather than a weekly facility average. A reading above 100% indicates that reported occupancy exceeded the number of working beds at that time.
Operational load varied considerably between facilities, regions and reporting hours throughout the week.
Several populous regions reported higher capacity
Among the regional summaries, Laval recorded an average capacity of 158.1% in 2026, compared with 148.7% during the matching period in 2025. That was an increase of 9.4 percentage points.
Montérégie averaged 125.8%, up from 111.8% one year earlier, an increase of 14.0 percentage points.
Chaudière-Appalaches averaged 122.0%, compared with 107.1% in 2025. The difference was 14.9 percentage points.
The Montréal region, which accounted for 17 reporting facilities and 2,564 records in 2026, averaged 119.3%. Its matching 2025 average was 106.7%, representing an increase of 12.6 percentage points.
The Laurentides averaged 118.8%, little changed from 118.4% one year earlier.
Lanaudière recorded an average capacity of 113.7%, up from 95.3% in 2025. That was an increase of 18.4 percentage points, the largest increase among the regions highlighted in this report.
Other regions recorded lower averages. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine averaged 42.1%, down from 45.7% in 2025. Abitibi-Témiscamingue averaged 53.6%, compared with 52.0% one year earlier.
Nord-du-Québec averaged 13.8% in 2026. No records were available for that region during the matching 2025 period, so a direct year-over-year comparison was not calculated.
These regional comparisons describe reported operational load only. They do not measure the quality or safety of care and should not be interpreted as a ranking of hospitals or regions.
Longer stays also differed by region
Montréal reported an average of 12.7 patients staying more than 24 hours and 5.8 staying more than 48 hours per record in 2026.
During the matching period in 2025, Montréal averaged 8.3 patients over 24 hours and 2.8 over 48 hours.
Montérégie averaged 11.0 patients over 24 hours and 4.0 over 48 hours in 2026, compared with 9.9 and 3.3, respectively, one year earlier.
Laval averaged 18.1 patients over 24 hours and 4.7 over 48 hours, compared with 17.4 and 3.0 during the matching 2025 period.
Several smaller or less densely populated regions reported lower prolonged-stay averages. Nord-du-Québec averaged 0.1 patients over 24 hours and 0.0 over 48 hours in 2026.
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine averaged 0.3 patients over 24 hours and 0.1 over 48 hours, compared with 0.4 and 0.1 in 2025.
Regional figures may be influenced by differences in hospital size, the number of reporting facilities and the volume of records submitted.
Data coverage
The current analysis covers July 6 to July 12, 2026, inclusive.
The 2026 dataset includes:
- 15 health regions with reported records
- 107 emergency department facilities
- 16,148 hourly records
The comparison period covers July 6 to July 12, 2025, inclusive.
The 2025 dataset includes:
- 15 health regions with reported records
- 114 emergency department facilities
- 10,811 hourly records
The regional totals matched the full provincial record count for each selected period, indicating complete coverage of the reporting facilities represented in the datasets.
Facility coverage was not identical between the two periods. The 2025 dataset included seven more reporting facilities but fewer hourly records than the 2026 dataset. Nord-du-Québec reported records in 2026 but had no records during the matching 2025 period.
Methodology
Provincial averages were calculated as record-weighted means across all reporting emergency department facilities. Each hourly record contributed equally to the provincial calculation.
Year-over-year changes were calculated by subtracting the July 6–12, 2025 average from the July 6–12, 2026 average.
Regional averages were weighted according to the number of records reported within each region.
The maximum capacity figure represents the highest individual reading recorded anywhere in Quebec during the analyzed week. Zero-capacity observations were not highlighted because they provide limited context for a report focused on emergency department operational load.
Capacity percentages and prolonged-stay counts describe reported operational conditions. They are not indicators of clinical safety and do not explain why conditions differed between facilities, regions or years.
This summary is based on publicly reported emergency department data and is provided for informational purposes only.