British Columbia ER Wait Times

6 of 88 hospitals reporting a live wait · open the map →

The median ER wait across British Columbia's reporting emergency departments is currently about 4h 45m, updated live and changing through the day. British Columbia has 88 emergency departments tracked here. CIHI grades it B for wait to be seen, 9 in 10 patients within 5.0 h. Right now the shortest posted wait is 1h 45m at St. Paul's Hospital; the longest is 6h 30m at Vancouver General Hospital. Compare all provinces on the report card →

Right now, 6 of 88 ERs across British Columbia are reporting a live wait. Shortest: 1h 45m at St. Paul's Hospital. Median 4h 45m.

Best time to go

Calmest7 a.m.

Busiest11 p.m.

For anything non-urgent, going at a calm hour can mean a much shorter wait.

Typical wait by hour

Typical emergency wait in British Columbia by hour of day, in minutes
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
238	238	231	216	197	178	156	132	132	140	149	155	161	163	163	168	169	174	176	182	190	206	224	239

Wait by city

Vancouver

5 ERs · median 2h 30m

Other cities in British Columbia

St. Paul's Hospital

Vancouver

1h 45m

BC Children's Hospital

Vancouver

2h 30m

St. Mary's Hospital / Sechelt-Shishalh Hospital

Vancouver General Hospital

Vancouver

6h 30m

100 Mile District General Hospital

100 Mile House

—

Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Care

Ashcroft and District Hospital and Community Health Centre

Bulkley Valley District Hospital

Campbell River and District Regional Hospital

Campbell River

—

Cariboo Memorial Hospital and Health Centre

Williams Lake

—

Chemainus Health Care Centre

Chemainus

—

Chetwynd General Hospital and Health Centre

Chetwynd

—

Chilliwack General Hospital

Chilliwack

—

Cowichan District Hospital

Duncan

—

Creston Valley Hospital

Creston

—

Dawson Creek and District Hospital

Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital and Health Centre

East Kootenay Regional Hospital

Fort Nelson General Hospital

Fort Nelson

—

Fort St. John Hospital

Fort St John

—

Fraser Canyon Hospital

Hope

—

Fraser Lake Community Health Centre

Fraser Lake

Closed

Golden and District General Hospital

Golden

—

Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre (South End)

Queen Charlotte

—

Houston Health Centre

Houston

Closed

Hudson's Hope Health Centre

Hudson's Hope

Closed

Invermere and District Hospital/Columbia Valley

Invermere

—

Kelowna General Hospital

Kelowna

—

Kitimat Hospital & Health Centre

Kitimat

—

Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital

Trail

—

Kootenay Lake Hospital

Nelson

—

Lady Minto Gulf Islands Hospital

Salt Spring Island

—

Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre

Burns Lake

—

Langley Memorial Hospital

Langley

—

Lillooet District Hospital and Health Centre

Lillooet

—

Mackenzie and District Hospital and Health Centre

Mcbride and District Hospital

Mcbride

—

Mills Memorial Hospital

Terrace

—

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital

Nanaimo

—

Nicola Valley Health Centre

Merritt

—

North Island Hospital Comox Valley

Courtenay

—

Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre (North End)

Pemberton Health Centre

Pemberton

—

Penticton Regional Hospital

Port Mcneill and District Hospital

Port Mcneill

—

Powell River General Hospital

Powell River

—

Prince George Regional Hospital

Prince George

—

Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

Prince Rupert

—

Princeton General Hospital

Princeton

—

Providence Health Care - Mount Saint Joseph Hospital

Vancouver

—

Queen Charlotte Islands General Hospital

Queen Charlotte

—

Queen Victoria Hospital and Health Centre

Revelstoke

—

Ridge Meadows Hospital

Maple Ridge

—

Royal Columbian Hospital

New Westminster

—

Royal Inland Hospital

Kamloops

—

Royal Jubilee Hospital

Victoria

—

Saanich Peninsula Hospital

Saanichton

—

Shuswap Lake General Hospital

Salmon Arm

—

South Okanagan General Hospital

Oliver

—

Squamish General Hospital

St. Joseph's General Hospital - Comox

Comox

—

Stewart Health Centre

Stewart

Closed

Stikine Health Centre

Surrey Memorial Hospital

Surrey

—

Tofino General Hospital

Tofino

—

Tumbler Ridge Health Centre

Valemount Health Centre

Valemount

Closed

Victoria General Hospital - Victoria

Victoria

—

West Coast General Hospital

Port Alberni

—

Whistler Health Care Centre

Whistler

—

Wrinch Memorial Hospital

Hazelton

—

g.r. Baker Memorial Hospital

Quesnel

—

r.w. Large Memorial Hospital

Waglisla

—

Frequently asked questions

How accurate are these ER wait times?

They are the live estimates each hospital publishes, refreshed about every 10 minutes; we stamp every reading with the moment the hospital said it was current and flag a feed that goes stale. They are estimates, not guarantees, an emergency room always sees the sickest patients first, so your own wait can differ. We also backtest our forecasts against what hospitals post next; see the accuracy page.

What does the wait time actually measure?

Usually the estimated time to be seen by a physician, but Canada has no common definition. Quebec publishes stretcher occupancy, New Brunswick length of stay, and others an estimate of the wait to be seen, so we keep each province in its own units and never blend them into one misleading number.

Should I go to the ER, or somewhere else?

For anything life-threatening, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now, never wait for a shorter posted time. For a non-urgent problem, calling 811 (free 24/7 health advice), a walk-in clinic, or a pharmacist is often faster. When in doubt, get checked.

Why do some hospitals show no wait time?

Not every Canadian ER publishes a live wait, and some provinces release none at all. A blank means we have no live number, not that the ER is closed. Open a hospital's page for its current status, official website, and phone number.

Which British Columbia ER has the shortest wait right now?

The list above is ordered by current posted wait, so the shortest comparable wait is at the top, but it shifts minute to minute, and in a real emergency the right choice is the nearest open ER, which can stabilize you and transfer you if needed.