Do I Need Travel Insurance When Travelling Within Canada? (2024)

Canada has a universal health care system that provides public health insurance to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident. This is known as the Government Health Insurance Plan, or GHIP. Each province and territory has its own health plan; for example, in Ontario it’s called the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, or OHIP, and in B.C. it’s called the Medical Services Plan, or MSP.

In general, with public health insurance, you won’t have to pay for most health care services, including family doctor’s visits, lab tests, diagnostics including X-rays, and emergency medical and hospital services.

There are differences between provincial and territorial plans, so it’s important to know what your plan covers. For example, Manitoba Health covers up to seven chiropractor visits per year, while Ontario does not offer chiropractic coverage.

Here is list of provincial and territorial public health care plans:

• British Columbia Medical Services Plan (MSP)
• Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP)
• Saskatchewan Health Services
• Manitoba Health
• Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)
• Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ)
• New Brunswick Medicare
• Nova Scotia Medical Service Insurance (MSI)
• Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Care Plan (MCP)
• Health PEI
• Northwest Territories NWT Health Care Plan
• Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan (YHCIP)
• Nunavut Health Care Plan

While Canada’s public health insurance plan is comprehensive, it doesn’t cover everything. While the particulars differ between provinces, the following are examples of services generally not covered by public health insurance:

• Cosmetic treatments and surgery
• Certain prescription drugs and vaccines
• Over-the-counter drugs
• Medical appliances
• Private nursing
• Additional charges for a private hospital room
• Services provided by paramedical health providers, such as chiropodists, physiotherapists, psychologists, dieticians, etc., outside of a hospital
• Some medical supplies, such as syringes
• Routine dental care, extractions and procedures

However, your province may offer publicly-funded drug plans for students, youth and/or seniors. Your employer may offer employment-related health insurance or you can purchase your own private health insurance plan to cover any coverage gaps.

Emergency medical insurance is a must-have for any out-of-province travel, even if you’re still in Canada.

In general, if you are travelling outside of your home province or territory and you don’t have supplemental travel insurance and you are faced with with a medical emergency, the following costs may not be covered:

• Treatment provided by a health-care practitioner, such as a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, chiropractor or physical therapist
• Prescription drugs
• Medical supplies
• Ambulance services, by ground or air
• Dental emergencies

Fees can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

Say you’re visiting Toronto from Winnipeg and you take a tumble down a flight of concrete steps. You’re taken by ambulance to the nearest local hospital and it’s discovered you fractured your femur. The ambulance ride alone will cost you. According to the Ontario Ministry of Health, visitors to Ontario who require ambulance services will have their costs fully covered only if:

• You are a visitor to Ontario from another province, and
• You are insured under your province’s health care plan, and
• A physician deems your ambulance service medically necessary, and
• You are transported between and Ontario hospital and a hospital in another province, or between two Ontario hospitals, and
• Your trip is for diagnostic or therapeutic services, and
• You are returned to the hospital of origin within 24 hours.

In all other cases you will have to pay a land ambulance service co-payment charge of $240. And if you need to be transported by air ambulance, you’ll be billed the actual cost. According to figures of Canadian hospital rates from August 2019 provided by Vancouver-based David Cummings Insurance Services, an air ambulance by helicopter in B.C. costs $2,746 per hour.

Most Canadian provinces and territories have reciprocal agreements with each other, except for Quebec, which means that if you are visiting Ontario from Nova Scotia and you need to visit the emergency department, the Ontario physician will bill their own provincial health care plan for insured services. The only exception is Quebec, where you’ll need to pay the health provider up front.

If you are required to pay out of pocket, you can typically submit a medical expense claim to your own GHIP when you return home. Keep in mind there may be a variation in billing rates between provinces and you could be on the hook for any difference.

Whenever you leave your home province, it’s important to get comprehensive emergency medical insurance in case of an unexpected illness or injury. In general, travel medical insurance pays for unexpected medical expenses during your trip, including:

• Ambulance services (ground and air)
• Physicians’ bills
• Hospital and operating room charges
• Diagnostics and lab tests
• Drugs and medication
• Emergency dental care
• Repatriation to your home province or territory
• Cost to bring a companion to your bedside if you’re hospitalized
• Childcare costs if you’re hospitalized
• Vehicle return if a hospitalization prevents you from returning your rental car

You can purchase travel insurance for travelling within Canada at the same place you’d buy travel insurance for any other trip. You can purchase travel insurance online, through a broker or a travel agent.

Some insurance companies, such as Scotia Travel Insurance, offer cheaper rates for travel within Canada. Others offer a bespoke Canada package. For example, RBC Insurance offers a comprehensive Travel Within Canada Package that offers emergency medical and trip protection for travel within Canada, while TuGo offers an Emergency Medical Within Canada package with $10 million in coverage.

Your travel credit card may also provide sufficient emergency medical coverage for trips within Canada. Before you leave home, check the fine print to ensure you’re properly protected.

The cost of travel medical insurance depends on several factors, such as your age, the duration of your trip, your destination and your health.

Using a sample quote of a 45-year-old healthy woman travelling from Toronto to Vancouver for eight days, here are some examples of the cost of emergency medical travel insurance: