🇨🇦 Canada · Healthcare
How the Canada healthcare system works — public vs private care, eligibility, and costs for residents and visitors.
Canada has publicly-funded healthcare (Medicare), delivered through each province and territory under the Canada Health Act. Eligible residents get medically-necessary hospital and physician care with no direct charge; you apply for your province's health card. Newcomers may face a waiting period in some provinces (private interim insurance is advisable), and things like prescription drugs and dental are often not covered.
- Healthcare is delivered by each province/territory; apply for your provincial health card as a resident.
- Medically-necessary hospital and physician services are covered with no direct charge.
- Some provinces impose a waiting period for new residents — consider private interim insurance.
- Prescription drugs, dental and vision are often not covered by the public plan.
Official authorities
- Canada's health care system (Health Canada)
Official overview of publicly-funded healthcare.
- Provincial health insurance plans (Canada.ca)
Links to each provincial/territorial plan.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Government portals
- Government of Canada — Canada's federal service portal — immigration, taxes, benefits, and travel info
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, work/study permits, and PR card applications
- Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) — T1 personal tax returns, corporate taxes, GST/HST, and benefit applications (CCB)