Like the UK, Canada’s overburdened public healthcare system is failing patients – MMG is ready to offer a way out.
Canada’s public healthcare system is facing delays, backlogs and growing patient frustration – closely mirroring the crisis in the UK’s NHS. With over 1.5 million Canadians waiting for treatment and many willing to self-pay for faster care, My Medical Gateway (MMG) is poised to offer a vital alternative. By connecting patients to affordable, high-quality overseas treatment, MMG provides a timely, trusted solution for those tired of waiting – making Canada the next logical step in MMG’s international expansion.
My Medical Gateway (MMG) is currently solely focused on helping UK patients access safe, timely and affordable healthcare abroad. Now, as Canada faces a healthcare crisis uncannily similar to Britain’s, MMG is turning its attention westward. In both countries, public trust in the national healthcare system is declining, waiting lists are swelling and access to timely care is becoming a luxury rather than a right. With rising dissatisfaction and a growing appetite for private solutions, Canada is poised to become MMG’s next critical market.
Canada’s healthcare system, often idealized abroad, is buckling under the pressure of post-pandemic demand, an aging population and chronic under-resourcing. At the heart of the problem lies a structural flaw common to the UK’s NHS: a single-payer system stretched far beyond its original design. Canadian patients, like their British counterparts, are waiting months – sometimes years – for medically necessary procedures. And like in the UK, they are increasingly willing to look beyond their borders for answers.
The numbers are staggering. As of 2024, the median wait time between referral from a general practitioner to receipt of treatment from a specialist in Canada was 27.7 weeks, according to data from the Fraser Institute. That’s nearly seven months. In the province of Nova Scotia, patients can expect to wait more than 56 weeks for an orthopaedic procedure. Across Canada, nearly 1.5 million people were stuck on medical waiting lists at the beginning of this year – a number that does not include those still waiting to be seen by a general practitioner or for diagnostic imaging. These delays are not just inconvenient; they are life-altering and, in some cases, life-threatening.
Compare this to the UK, where the NHS elective backlog has reached 7.6 million. While the absolute numbers differ, the structural patterns are nearly identical: centralization, staff burnout, bureaucratic inertia and the political paralysis of reform. In both systems, the promise of universal healthcare is being eroded by reality. In both, patients are desperate for timely, high-quality options. This is where MMG steps in.
What makes the Canadian opportunity especially promising is the sharp rise in public willingness to consider private or overseas treatment. In a 2023 Ipsos survey, 62% of Canadians said they believed the healthcare system was “in crisis” and needed major reform. Over 40% of respondents said they would be willing to pay out of pocket to speed up their access to treatment if given the choice. These sentiments align closely with attitudes in the UK, where recent polling found 45% of adults would “go private” if they could afford it. The demand for private and overseas care is no longer limited to the wealthy; it is becoming a mainstream response to systemic failure.
Crucially, Canada already has a significant base of cross-border healthcare engagement. Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians travel to the United States for care, often paying exorbitant fees for relatively simple procedures. MMG will offer Canadians a better solution: curated, accredited, and affordable access to high-quality treatment in nearby destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, and Spain – at a fraction of the US cost. Where a hip replacement in the US might run to $50,000, the same procedure at an MMG-accredited clinic in southern Europe or Latin America can be delivered for under $12,000, inclusive of travel and accommodation.
The appeal goes further. Like Britons, many Canadians are open to combining healthcare with leisure. Recovery in a warm climate, access to wellness services, the option of a holiday or retreat – all of these are part of MMG’s value proposition. As more people work remotely or enjoy flexible retirement, the idea of spending three to six weeks abroad for treatment and recovery is not a burden – it’s a lifestyle decision.
The Canadian system is also hindered by regulatory and ideological resistance to private provision, even as demand grows. MMG’s marketplace model sidesteps this entirely. As we upscale our service globally, patients will not be choosing between public and private providers within Canada; they will be accessing a global ecosystem of trusted hospitals, experienced surgeons and world-class facilities, all coordinated through a single digital gateway. For Canadian users, the platform would offer welcome transparency, cost control and peace of mind – exactly what the public system can no longer guarantee.
The parallels between Canada and the UK make the MMG model easily transferable. Both markets are English-speaking, digitally literate and increasingly disillusioned with long-held assumptions about “free” healthcare. Both face unsustainable backlogs and have large populations who can afford – or are willing to save for – affordable treatment if it means less pain, fewer delays, and better outcomes.
MMG’s expansion into Canada is not just logical – it may well be urgent. As more Canadians seek autonomy over their healthcare choices, a trusted platform like MMG can offer what the system cannot: fast, fair, and global access to medical treatment without compromise.
Canada deserves better than an endless wait. And with MMG, better is just a few clicks away.
Leave a comment