Canada's public health insurance is the foundation everything else builds on. Each province runs its own plan — OHIP in Ontario, MSP in BC, RAMQ in Quebec, AHCIP in Alberta — and every legal resident qualifies after a short waiting period (up to 3 months in some provinces). These plans cover medically necessary hospital stays, surgeries, and doctor visits at no direct cost to you. There is no monthly premium in most provinces (BC eliminated its MSP premiums in 2020), and you cannot be denied for pre-existing conditions. This is the part of health insurance in Canada that surprises newcomers with its generosity.

The gaps are where the money goes. Public plans generally do not cover prescription drugs taken outside hospitals, routine dental care, eye exams and glasses for adults, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic, psychology, or ambulance rides. A single root canal can cost CAD 800-1,500; a year's worth of a common brand-name prescription can run into the thousands. For working-age adults, these uncovered categories are the real health expenses — and the reason private health insurance in Canada exists.

Most Canadians fill the gap through employer group plans — roughly two-thirds of the population has some form of supplemental coverage, and the majority of it is employer-sponsored. A typical group plan covers 80-100% of prescription drugs, CAD 1,000-2,000 per year in dental, eye exams plus a glasses allowance every two years, and paramedical services (physio, massage, chiro, psychology) at CAD 500-1,000 per practitioner per year. If your employer offers a plan, take it: group rates are far cheaper than anything you can buy individually, and enrollment is usually guaranteed. Ask HR for the plan booklet before you assume you are covered — drug maximums and dental caps vary widely between employers.

If you are self-employed or your employer offers nothing, individual private plans are the next option. Providers like Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Desjardins, and Blue Cross sell individual health and dental plans in Canada, typically costing CAD 75-200 per month for a single adult and CAD 150-350 for a family in 2026. Coverage mirrors group plans but with lower maximums and, importantly, medical underwriting — pre-existing conditions may face waiting periods or exclusions. Buy before you need it; you cannot insure a dental emergency that already happened.

Prescription drugs deserve special attention because they are the largest and most variable gap. Quebec mandates drug coverage for all residents (through RAMQ or private plans); other provinces cover seniors, low-income residents, and catastrophic costs through programs like Ontario's Trillium or BC's Fair PharmaCare, but working-age adults with average incomes mostly pay out of pocket. If you take regular medication, price your drugs first, then choose a private plan whose drug maximum actually covers your annual cost — a plan with a CAD 5,000 drug cap is useless against CAD 12,000 in annual prescriptions. Keep receipts for every prescription — many plans and tax credits require them, and they make year-end claims far simpler.

Newcomers and visitors face a special case. Provincial coverage has a waiting period of up to three months in Ontario, BC, and some other provinces, and visitors are not covered at all — a single emergency-room visit can cost thousands. New immigrants should buy private bridge insurance for the waiting period, and anyone sponsoring parents or grandparents needs the Super Visa medical insurance (minimum CAD 100,000 coverage from a Canadian insurer). Health insurance in Canada is excellent once you are in the system; the expensive mistakes happen in the gaps before coverage starts.