Average Canadian family paying $21K for 'free' system, new report says
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — While Canadians like boasting of their “free health care,” a new report shows hidden tax bills related to Canada’s struggling medical system are climbing faster than household earnings.
Released this week by the Fraser Institute, the study entitled The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2026 shows the average Canadian family of four earning an average household income of $202,885 will spend an estimated $21,115 in health-care costs.
“Canadians often misunderstand the true cost of our public health-care system,” read an excerpt from the report, authored by institute fellows Nadeem Esmail, Nathaniel Li and Milagros Palacios.
“This occurs partly because Canadians do not incur direct expenses for their use of health care, and partly because Canadians cannot readily determine the value of their contribution to public health care insurance.”
Couples without kids will cough up an estimated $19,225, while single adults will pay around $6,464.
Health-care costs have grown substantially
Because Canada funds health care via general tax revenues rather than through direct billing or dedicated health-care tax, the researchers say most Canadians have little idea of many of their tax dollars actually fund healthcare.
“Canadians pay a substantial amount of money for public health care through a variety of taxes — even if we don’t pay directly for medical services,” Esmail said.
He argued that understanding the true cost of healthcare is important for taxpayers to determine if they’re getting their money’s worth from Canada’s struggling health-care system.
Health-care costs for Canadian families, the report said, have grown substantially over the past few decades.
Between 1997 and 2026, public health-care costs for average Canadian families has grown 2.3 times faster than food costs, 1.5 times faster than the cost of housing, and 1.7 times faster than the growth of average incomes.
“The 10% of Canadian families with the lowest incomes will pay an average of about $637 for public health care insurance in 2026,” the report stated, adding that the 10% percent of families who earn average incomes of $88,572 will pay around $8,644 for public health insurance, while those earning among the top 10% will pay $66,350.