Medical Tourism From Canada: Waits, Rules, Coverage

An estimated 105,529 Canadians received non-emergency medical treatment outside the country in 2025. Leaving to get care is legal, almost never reimbursed, and carries risks that are manageable if you treat the trip like a procurement decision rather than a vacation. This page sets out the numbers, the rules and the honest risk list, and explains where Panama fits, which is as a smaller, well-run option rather than the cheapest one.

How many Canadians go abroad, and how long they wait

The Fraser Institute's estimate, published January 13, 2026, combines CIHI procedure counts with its annual physician survey across 12 specialties. It counts only patients who had already seen a specialist, and the authors say it is likely an underestimate (Fraser Institute commentary).

2025 estimate	Figure	Source
Canadians treated abroad (non-emergency)	105,529, or 2.1% of patients; up 66% in a decade	Fraser Institute; The Hub
Ontario	51,538	The Hub
British Columbia	25,698	same
Alberta	13,919 (highest share of patients, 3.0%)	same; Fraser Institute
Quebec	6,285	The Hub
Atlantic Canada	about 4,600	CTV Atlantic
Highest specialty share	Urology, 3.7% (12,697 patients); plastic surgery 3.2%; gynaecology 3.0%; radiation oncology 2.7%	same
Lowest specialty share	Cardiovascular surgery, 0.9%	Fraser Institute

The waits that drive this, from Waiting Your Turn 2025 (published December 9, 2025): a median of 28.6 weeks from GP referral to treatment, down from 30.0 in 2024 and up from 9.3 weeks in 1993. GP-to-specialist took 15.3 weeks and specialist-to-treatment 13.3 weeks. Ontario had the shortest total wait (19.2 weeks); New Brunswick the longest (60.9), followed by PEI (49.7) and Nova Scotia (49.0). By specialty, neurosurgery (49.9 weeks) and orthopaedics (48.6) were longest; radiation oncology (4.2) and medical oncology (4.7) shortest. MRI waits were 18.1 weeks, CT 8.8, ultrasound 5.4, with about 1.4 million procedures in the queue (Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn 2025).

The Fraser survey excludes dentistry. Dental travel, which is a large share of what Canadians actually do abroad, is additional to the 105,529.

What Canadians most commonly seek abroad

Fraser's data points to urology, plastic surgery, gynaecology, orthopaedics and general surgery. Press reporting on Canadian medical tourists in 2025 adds the procedures behind those numbers: spinal and back surgery, dental implants and full-mouth reconstruction, joint work, and cosmetic surgery (Benefits and Pensions Monitor, July 17, 2025). The same article cites a Medical Tourism Association projection of 432,000 Canadians abroad for treatment in 2025; that is an industry estimate on a broader definition, not a measured count.

Is it legal, and who pays

It is legal. No Canadian law prevents you from buying medical care in another country. The Government of Canada publishes guidance on how to do it more safely, not whether you may (Government of Canada, travelling outside Canada to receive medical care, modified Sept 2, 2026).

Your province will not pay, with one exception. Provincial plans reimburse emergency care abroad at small fixed rates (see our OHIP, RAMQ and MSP page). Planned treatment abroad is reimbursable only through a prior-approval program, and only when a Canadian specialist certifies the treatment is medically necessary and not available in Canada (or, for Ontario, not available in Ontario within a medically appropriate time). Ontario requires written approval before the service (ontario.ca); BC requires a specialist to file the HLTH 2810 funding application before care (gov.bc.ca); Quebec requires two physicians to sign form 4306 and, for care outside Canada, that no adequate service exists anywhere in the country (RAMQ form 4306). Choosing to go abroad to shorten a wait does not qualify. Everything else is self-pay.

Travel insurance excludes it. Manulife CoverMe's Emergency Medical policy excludes "any non-emergency, experimental or elective treatment such as cosmetic surgery, chronic care," and separately excludes "any trip made for the purpose of obtaining a diagnosis, treatment, surgery, investigation, palliative care, whether or not it was authorized by a physician, as well as any directly or indirectly-related complication" (CoverMe policy wording, Section 8). Other Canadian insurers use similar language. If an implant site becomes infected the week after surgery in Panama, your travel policy will not pay for the readmission. Price that in, or buy a dedicated medical-complications policy from the facilitator or clinic, and read its exclusions.

Continuity of care when you come home

The Canadian Medical Protective Association's July 2023 guidance is the clearest statement on this. Existing doctor-patient relationships "generally remain in place, together with the duty of care" when a patient returns from treatment abroad; the physician should treat to Canadian standards "within the limits of your knowledge and resources." Your doctor is not required to recommend a foreign provider, may decline to advise on it, and may ask for the foreign records before providing follow-up. CMPA also warns physicians that involvement in care abroad can expose them to legal action outside Canada, which the CMPA "does not generally assist with" (CMPA, When Canadian patients travel abroad for care).

In practice your family doctor and provincial plan will manage complications like any other illness, but without the operating surgeon's notes unless you bring them. The Government of Canada advises telling every provider you see for 12 months after return that you had treatment outside Canada (Government of Canada).

The honest risk list

From the Government of Canada's guidance and the CMPA article:

• Accreditation. "Hospital or medical clinic accreditation standards may be different from those in Canada." Verify facility accreditation and practitioner credentials through official sources, not the clinic's own site.
• Infection control and resistant organisms. Complications can include "bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics," and infection-prevention practices vary.
• Follow-up. Canadian providers "may not have enough information to properly assess and treat you." Carry records, imaging and medication lists both ways.
• Legal recourse. "Your options for legal action may be limited." Panama, for example, does not require practitioners to carry malpractice insurance, according to resident reports ⚠ unverified against Panamanian law (ExpatDen).
• Flying after surgery raises the risk of blood clots. Build in recovery days before the flight home.
• Pressure and pricing. Be wary of pressure to decide quickly and of prices or success claims that look too good (Government of Canada).

Where Canadians go, by procedure

One line each, with what the record supports.

• Mexico. Dental (Los Algodones, Tijuana, Cancún), bariatric and some spinal work; largest volume and lowest published dental prices; the border hubs are reached via US airports (PlacidWay; Benefits and Pensions Monitor).
• Costa Rica. Dental implants and crowns in San José/Escazú, with a JCI-accredited private hospital (Clínica Bíblica); one dentist told Canadian press international patients are up to 70% of his peak-month clientele (Benefits and Pensions Monitor; Clínica Bíblica JCI).
• Colombia. Cosmetic surgery and dental; cited in Latin American dental-tourism coverage alongside Panama (Dentaltown, Sept 2025). ⚠ unverified: no Canadian-specific volume data.
• Türkiye. Dental implants, full-mouth reconstruction and cosmetic work; a Montreal patient reported two implants for under CA$5,500 including flights (Benefits and Pensions Monitor).
• India. Complex surgery for Indo-Canadians combining family travel with care (same).
• Germany. Spinal reconstruction at high prices (about CA$100,000 in one reported case) for patients who put outcome ahead of cost (same).
• Panama. Dental, orthopaedic, cataract and diagnostic work in Panama City's private hospitals; a smaller market, described below.

Panama's niche, stated plainly

Panama is neither the cheapest destination nor the biggest. Its case rests on infrastructure:

• Pacífica Salud Hospital Punta Pacífica: JCI-accredited since October 2011, the first in Panama, under a Johns Hopkins Medicine International affiliation covering protocols, training and quality audits (IMTJ, Oct 2011; Johns Hopkins Medicine International). +507 204-8000, info@pacificasalud.com (verified on pacificasalud.com, Oct 17, 2026).
• The Panama Clinic (Paitilla): TEMOS-certified for Quality in Medical Care and Excellence in Medical Tourism, with an international patient department (Better by MTA, Aug 2026). Contact centre +507 310-1111, WhatsApp +507 6200-6533 (verified on thepanamaclinic.com, Oct 17, 2026). International Office +507 6275-3707, medicalteam@thepanamaclinic.com (verified on thepanamaclinic.com, Oct 17, 2026).
• US dollars are the national currency: no conversion between quote and invoice.
• Copa flies nonstop daily from Toronto (about 5h45) and Montreal (flightsfrom.com; AeroRoutes).
• Prices are mid-pack: admission US$400–1,500/day, MRI US$300–600, specialist US$50–150, implant with crown US$1,500–2,100 (ExpatDen; ExpatDen dental).
• Volume is small: 53,427 Canadian visitors in 2025 for all purposes (ATP); Fraser publishes no destination split, so Panama's share of the 105,529 is unknown.

The admission script

Panamanian private hospitals admit on proof of ability to pay. Emergency care is given regardless, but scheduled care requires payment or an insurer's pre-authorization first; a foreign insurance card alone may not count, deposits of US$3,000 to US$10,000 or more are common, and some patients have been asked for US$5,000 to US$15,000 on a card before surgery (ExpatDen; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute). Hospitals take cards for hospital charges but often not physicians' fees, and refuse international wires (Expat Exchange).

1. Before you fly: raise your card limit and notify the issuer. Email the hospital's international office (ask the switchboard for "Pacientes Internacionales") with diagnosis and imaging; request a written estimate and the deposit policy.
2. Emergency: call your Canadian insurer's assistance line first and ask for a guarantee of payment to the named hospital. Record the case number.
3. Planned: expect to pay the deposit. Get hospital, surgeon and anaesthesia fees itemized separately; they are often billed separately.
4. Keep every original invoice for any provincial emergency claim and your own records.