2026-07-20 — Daily report — Quebec emergency room waitlists increased by 27% on July 20, 2026, with overall stretcher occupancy reaching 90%.

Key Takeaways

•Quebec emergency room waiting lists grew by 27% during the day, rising from 1,236 to 1,570 patients, while average stretcher occupancy reached 90%.

•Laval, Montérégie, and Montréal experienced severe stretcher congestion, reporting occupancy rates of 176%, 140%, and 125% respectively.

•Hôpital général juif and Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne were the province's busiest individual ERs, each with 53 patients waiting.

On July 20, 2026, Quebec's emergency departments experienced growing pressure throughout the day. According to historical data from urgencesquebec.com, the total number of patients waiting in ERs increased by 27%, rising from 1,236 in the earliest snapshot to 1,570 by the latest. Over the same period, the total number of patients in the ER grew from 3,561 to 4,419, pushing overall provincial stretcher occupancy up from 74% to 90% across 120 tracked facilities.

Regionally, Laval recorded the most critical stretcher congestion at 176%, with Montérégie (140%) and Montréal (125%) also significantly over capacity. The individual facilities facing the heaviest volume were Hôpital général juif in Montréal and Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne in Montérégie, each registering 53 waiting patients, followed closely by Laval's Hôpital de la Cité-de-la-Santé with 51.