Healthcare Insights
Top 10 largest Canadian hospitals
The Canadian healthcare system has been publicly funded since 1984. Canadian citizens have access to universal coverage for necessary healthcare services, with patients paying out-of-pocket or purchasing supplemental coverage for prescription medications, and for vision and dental care.
These and other characteristics make it difficult for U.S.-based companies to understand exactly how to approach the Canadian healthcare market.
Currently, Definitive Healthcare provides healthcare commercial intelligence on more than 130 Canadian health systems. These health systems operate 774 active Canadian hospitals across the country’s 10 provinces, helping provide critical healthcare services to the people of Canada.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 largest Canadian hospitals by number of beds.
| Rank | Hospital | Definitive ID | City | Province | Number of beds | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton General Hospital | 839795 | Hamilton | ON | 1,373 | Explore |
| 2 | The Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus | 840012 | Ottawa | ON | 1,170 | Explore |
| 3 | Vancouver General Hospital | 585714 | Vancouver | BC | 1,013 | Explore |
| 4 | Foothills Medical Centre | 586129 | Calgary | AB | 1,008 | Explore |
| 5 | Centennial Building - Queen Elizabeth II (FKA Victoria Building - Queen Elizabeth II) | 585853 | Halifax | NS | 1,004 | Explore |
| 6 | Hotel-Dieu de Sherbrooke | 775729 | Sherbrooke | QC | 992 | Explore |
| 7 | Royal University Hospital | 586088 | Saskatoon | SK | 888 | Explore |
| 8 | University of Alberta Hospital | 586182 | Edmonton | AB | 855 | Explore |
| 9 | Oshawa Hospital | 585965 | Oshawa | ON | 845 | Explore |
| 10 | Royal Alexandra Hospital | 586180 | Edmonton | AB | 802 | Explore |
Fig. 1 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data accessed August 2024.
What is the largest hospital in Canada?
Hamilton General Hospital tops our list with 1,373 beds, followed by The Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus, with 1,170 beds. In a close third is Vancouver General Hospital, with 1,013 beds. Hamilton General Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus are both in Ontario, while Vancouver General Hospital is in British Columbia.
It makes sense that three hospitals with the most beds serve these areas, as Hamilton, Ottawa, and Vancouver are the 9th, 6th, and 3rd largest cities in Canada respectively. Generally, hospitals serving higher populations require more beds to support greater patient volumes.
How do hospitals in Canada compare to hospitals in the U.S.?
Interestingly, the top hospitals in the U.S. by staffed beds have more hospital beds than the top hospitals in Canada. In fact, the U.S. hospital with the most beds—AdventHealth Orlando—has 48% more capacity, with 2,247 beds, compared to Hamilton General Hospital’s 1,373 beds. This may be because the U.S. is significantly more populated than Canada—U.S.’ population is 333.3 million, while Canada’s population is 38.9 million.
What type of Canadian facilities does Definitive Healthcare track?
Definitive Healthcare tracks seven categories of Canadian Hospitals, including cancer treatment centers, chronic care facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, pediatric and psychiatric specialty hospitals, and more.
In our list above, most of the hospitals are “general hospitals”, meaning they offer inpatient care to patients across a variety of specialties, like the ones listed above. General hospitals typically treat a greater number of patients than specialty facilities and therefore require more beds to accommodate more patients receiving various types of care.
Learn more
Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.
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