Alberta emergency room visit lengths continue to grow: Report [Video]

Anyone who has visited an emergency room in Alberta in recent years knows to expect a wait if not critically ill or injured, and now a new report confirms wait times have increased.

The report by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has found the median length of stay in an Alberta emergency room was three hours and 58 minutes in 2024 — up 54 minutes over the past five years.

The median length of stay from arrival to unit transfer or discharge is the middle value of trips to the ER — meaning half were longer, and half shorter.

The report found the median time to see a doctor in an Alberta emergency department was one and a half hours last year.

Despite the wait times, Alberta actually ranked among the top three provinces for shortest visit lengths.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s median time in an ER was two hours and 45 minutes, …