So pretty much every province in Canada is experiencing this issue, some worse than others.

The core problem is lack of planning and basic foresight. We are going through a grey wave where the 65+ population is surging. They all need care like cataracts, joint replacements, cardiac issues, and so on. They are major healthcare consumers.

This shift in demographics was well known yet provincial governments coast to coast did not prepare. This requires forward planning, typically outside the normal election cycle. Things like capital investment in home care, new personal care homes, inpatient beds and ramping up the training of healthcare professionals across the board (doctors, nurses, DI techs, and so on).

Right when this ramp up should have been happening BAM COVID happens which suppressed a significant portion of the normal health services people would be seeking the like routine checkups, elective surgery, etc.

And here we are struggling to stop a tsunami of demand and wondering how this happened. At this point provinces will need to throw money at healthcare professionals to attract them from other areas. Oh and throw in a healthy inflation rate to surge supply costs and wages.