Health in Canada - Public Opinion

Public Opinion

Canadians strongly support the health system's public rather than for-profit private basis, and a 2009 poll by Nanos Research found 86.2% of Canadians surveyed supported or strongly supported "public solutions to make our public health care stronger."

A Strategic Counsel survey found 91% of Canadians prefer their healthcare system instead of a U.S. style system. Plus 70% of Canadians rated their system as working either "well" or "very well".

A 2009 Harris/Decima poll found 82% of Canadians preferred their healthcare system to the one in the United States, more than ten times as many as the 8% stating a preference for a US-style health care system for Canada while a Strategic Counsel survey in 2008 found 91% of Canadians preferring their healthcare system to that of the U.S. The same article mentioned that when asked about their own health care instead of the "health care system," more than half of Americans (51.3 percent) are very satisfied with their health care services, compared to only 41.5 percent of Canadians; a lower proportion of Americans are dissatisfied (6.8 percent) than Canadians (8.5 percent). Respondents then rated quality of service as excellent (36% Canada, 40% US), and being very satisfied with health care services (42% Canada, 53% US). When asked "overall the Canadian health care system was performing very well, fairly well, not very well or not at all?" 70% of Canadians rated their system as working either "well" or "very well". A 2003 Gallup poll found only 25% of Americans are either "very" or "somewhat" satisfied with "the availability of affordable healthcare in the nation", versus 50% of those in the UK and 57% of Canadians. Those "very dissatisfied" made up 44% of Americans, 25% of respondents of Britons, and 17% of Canadians. The same report portrays a different story in terms of quality. When asked about the quality of medical care in their respective nations, 17% were strongly satisfied in the U.S. compared to 13% in Canada and 11% in Britain.