Doctor shortage by province — attachment on the map.
National surveys put millions of Canadians without a regular primary-care provider; provincial estimates vary widely (e.g. high unattached shares in Atlantic provinces, large absolute numbers in BC and Quebec). Table rows below should be checked against CIHI, CCHS, and provincial health data for the survey year.
The numbers on the record.
Geography of access is real — causes differ by province.
On the record: provincial attachment estimates and CIHI workforce tables.
Inference (labeled): uneven distribution implies provincial policy and training pipeline differences. It is not a single federal failure mode without jurisdiction-specific primaries.
Provincial breakdown — verify each cell.
| Province | Est. Without Family Doctor | % of Population | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick | ~250K | ~30%+ | Most Severe |
| Nova Scotia | ~250K | ~25% | Severe |
| British Columbia | ~900K | ~17% | Severe |
| Quebec | ~1M+ | ~12% | High |
| Ontario | ~2.5M | ~16% | Severe (largest absolute) |
| Alberta | ~800K | ~17% | High |
| Saskatchewan | ~150K | ~13% | Moderate |
| Manitoba | ~180K | ~13% | Moderate |
| PEI | ~30K | ~18% | Proportionally severe |
| NL | ~70K | ~14% | Severe rural |
Atlantic Canada: The Testing Ground
Atlantic Canada has the highest physician shortage rates AND the highest MAID rates per capita (documented in the provincial MAID analysis). This correlation is not coincidental: the provinces where the healthcare system fails most severely are the provinces where MAID is most utilised. When patients cannot access a family doctor, their conditions deteriorate. Chronic conditions become irremediable. MAID becomes available. The provincial data maps healthcare failure to MAID eligibility geographically.
Ontario: Largest Absolute Number
Ontario has approximately 2.5 million people without a family doctor — the largest absolute number. Ontario is also where the largest immigrant population settles. As documented in the immigration-MAID pipeline, immigrants arrive in Ontario, face credential barriers, and join the 2.5 million queue for a family doctor. The healthcare failure that feeds the MAID pipeline is concentrated in the province where the pipeline's input population is largest.
The Rural Collapse
Rural and remote communities across every province face the most severe shortages. As documented in the nursing crisis, ER closures disproportionately affect rural areas. Indigenous communities on reserves face the worst healthcare access — documented in the treaty violations analysis. The geographic pattern of healthcare failure mirrors the geographic pattern of socioeconomic vulnerability.
The Geographic Pipeline
Highest shortages → highest MAID rates. Largest immigrant populations → largest queues. Rural communities → worst access. The healthcare failure that manufactures MAID eligibility hits specific populations in specific places.
Full evidence chain: MAID Dossier Index →
Primary records on this file.
Doctor shortage by province — attachment on the map.. A TENET5 public-record file — open the primary sources cited on this page before treating any figure as settled.