The Santis—Nanos Canadian Health Perspective is a national public opinion survey tracking Canadian attitudes and sentiment on health care delivery, priorities, and system innovation, powered by Nanos Research and Santis Health. The inaugural survey is the first in a series looking at Canadians’ experience in health care, their priorities, and desire for improvement and innovation.
May 2026 Survey
The Innovation Mandate
Worried and frustrated by the status quo, the inaugural survey showed Canadians are ready and willing to change. This mandate is a wake-up call and gives decision-makers permission to move faster and further to innovate and do things differently. The system and governments now have a licence from Canadians to lead that change.
Canadians are at a tipping point and have lost their confidence.
91%
agree it is important for the system to change now, a view held across all demographics and regions.
70%
feel "worried" or "frustrated" by the current state of care.
55%
say the health care system is moving in the wrong direction.
26%
name long waits as the defining failure of the system, more than any other concern.
To improve access, we need to protect our publicly funded system while striking a balance with new approaches to care delivery and the meaningful integration of innovation. Canadians are looking for change that leads to improvement, disrupting the status quo in a tangible and impactful way.
67%
The majority of Canadians (67%) are either "open" or "somewhat open" to having health care providers use AI to assist with diagnosis and treatment plans, and to help keep up with changing information.
81%
81% of Canadians are either "open" or "somewhat open" to modernizing care delivery through expanded virtual care and digital tools.
82%
82% of Canadians would like to access a secure "digital health wallet" that they own and control, allowing them to instantly share their full medical history with any doctor or hospital of their choice.
95%
95% are "open" or "somewhat open" to receiving routine care and prescriptions from qualified professionals other than doctors, such as pharmacists and nurse practitioners.
82%
In order to see more patients, the majority of Canadians across all demographic groups (82% either "open" or "somewhat open") agree that government rules need to be updated to allow family doctors to be paid for care delivered by their team.
70%
About 7 in 10 Canadians believe the best approach to improve health care in Canada involves at least a role for private care.
60%
60% of Canadians would be "open" or "somewhat open" to private organizations delivering publicly funded surgeries and diagnostic tests.
72%
The data shows overwhelming support for paying for life-saving medications if it means Canadians can get them sooner. 72% of Canadians prefer that the government ensures access to new life-saving medications at the same time as other major countries, even if it means the government has to pay higher prices.
About the May 2026 survey Nanos Research conducted an RDD dual-frame (land- and cell-line) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,003 Canadians (18+) from May 3 to 6, 2026. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest Census information to be geographically representative of Canada. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. This study was commissioned by Santis Health. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Webinar Replay
Unpacking the Inaugural Canadian Health Perspective Research
Join renowned medical journalist Avis Favaro, Santis Health Managing Partner Patrick Nelson and Nanos Research Chief Data Scientist and Founder Nik Nanos for an in-depth analysis of the May 2026 findings. Now also available to watch or listen to as a podcast.
Expert Panel
Driving Meaningful Change
The Santis-Nanos Canadian Health Perspective combines Santis Health's deep sector expertise and strategic advisory services with Nanos Research's gold-standard public opinion methodology. Together, we reveal critical evidence gaps in the Canadian health care system that need to be addressed today.
Santis Health works with Canada's health care leaders to navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI integration, turning insight into strategy that shapes the future of care delivery and systems.