Study: Prevalence of having a regular health care provider among immigrants and racialized people, 2024
Released: 2026-04-22
Having a regular health care provider (RHCP), such as a family doctor, a medical specialist or a nurse practitioner, may be limited by various factors, such as the service availability, waiting times, the distance from a person's home to the services offered and familiarity with the health care system.
Today, Statistics Canada is releasing two new studies on the prevalence of having a regular health care provider. The study titled "Navigating health care: Regular health care provider access among recent immigrants, established immigrants and non-immigrants" examines the proportion of recent immigrants and established immigrants who reported having an RHCP in Canada. The other study, "Racialized groups who have a regular health care provider: An overview" breaks down this prevalence within racialized communities in Canada.
Overall, the results of both studies indicated some differences between the groups. For example, the first study found that, in 2024, recent immigrants (69%) were less likely to report having an RHCP than non-immigrants (82%). Similarly, the second study revealed that overall racialized people (79%) were less likely to report having an RHCP than their non-racialized, non-Indigenous counterparts (84%). However, in both studies, these gaps were inconsistent across age groups.
Age plays a central role in having a regular health care provider among racialized people
Although racialized people were generally less likely to report having an RHCP, there was variation among specific groups. In 2024, Filipino people (86%) were most likely to report having an RHCP, while Arab (71%), Latin American (72%), Southeast Asian (72%) and Black (73%) people were less likely to report having an RHCP.
Older racialized people were more likely to report having an RHCP than their younger counterparts. In 2024, nearly all (95%) racialized people aged 65 years and older reported having an RHCP, compared with two-thirds (66%) of their counterparts aged 18 to 34 years. This finding is consistent with the greater health care needs of older adults, who are more likely to experience chronic conditions or have complex health needs.
Among younger adults aged 18 to 34 years, racialized people (66%) were less likely to report having an RHCP than their non-racialized, non-Indigenous counterparts (78%). This gap decreased with age, and there was no gap among racialized and non-racialized people aged 65 years and older.
Recent immigrants are least likely to report having access to a regular health care provider
Having an RHCP also varied by time since immigration. In 2024, 69% of immigrants who had been in Canada for 10 years or less (recent immigrants) reported having an RHCP, compared with 85% of immigrants who had been in Canada for more than 10 years (established immigrants). Established immigrants were also slightly more likely than non-immigrants (82%) to have an RHCP.
Note to readers
Results of the study about racialized Canadians are based on the 2024 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Results of the study about immigrants are based on the 2024 Survey on Health Care Access and Experiences – Primary and Specialist Care (SHCAE-PSC).
Although the CCHS and the SHCAE-PSC use slightly different wording to define a regular health care provider (RHCP), both operationalize the concept similarly, including family doctors/general practitioners, nurse practitioners, medical specialists and other health professionals. However, because of minor differences in question wording and survey context, estimates of RHCP access from the two surveys should not be considered fully and directly comparable.
Definitions
In the SHCAE-PSC, a regular health care provider is a health professional that a person regularly consults with when they need care or advice about their health. This can include a family doctor or general practitioner, medical specialist, nurse practitioner or other health professional.
In the CCHS, regular health care provider refers to one health care professional a person regularly consults when they need care or advice about their health. This can include a family doctor, a medical specialist, a nurse practitioner or another professional.
A recent immigrant refers to persons who obtained Canadian permanent residency up to 10 years ago. An established immigrant refers to persons who have obtained their Canadian permanent residency more than 10 years ago. A non-immigrant refers to persons who are Canadian citizens by birth.
The concept of racialized group is derived directly from the "visible minority" variable in the Census of Population. "Visible minority" refers to whether a person is a visible minority or not, as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population comprises the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
Products
The articles titled "Navigating health care: Regular health care provider access among recent immigrants, established immigrants and non-immigrants" and "Racialized groups who have a regular health care provider: An overview" are now available in Insights on Canadian Society (75-006-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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