2026-08-22 — Daily report — Quebec emergency rooms show improved overall capacity with a 9 percentage point drop in stretcher occupancy over four days, despite critical overcrowding in Montreal and Laval.

Key Takeaways

•Provincial ER capacity has improved over the last four days, with stretcher occupancy falling from 81% to 72% and the total number of waiting patients decreasing by 266.

•Laval and Montreal remain the most severely overcrowded regions, reporting critical stretcher occupancy rates of 147% and 116% respectively.

•Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne in Montérégie and Hôpital Pierre-Le Gardeur in Lanaudière are the province's busiest individual ERs, with 68 and 66 patients waiting respectively.

According to data from urgencesquebec.com, Quebec's emergency departments showed stable occupancy throughout August 22, 2026, ending the day with 1,430 patients waiting, 3,326 total patients in ERs, and an average stretcher occupancy of 72% across 120 facilities. This represents a significant improvement compared to four days ago (August 19), when there were 266 more patients waiting and the average provincial stretcher occupancy was 9 percentage points higher at 81%.

Despite this general improvement, severe localized congestion persists in the Greater Montreal area. Laval is under the greatest strain, recording a critical 147% stretcher occupancy at its sole facility, Hôpital de la Cité-de-la-Santé. Montreal (116% stretcher occupancy) and Montérégie (105%) also remain heavily congested, with Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne in Montérégie registering the province's highest volume of waiting patients at 68.