Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Canada?
In 2026, Canada scores 52 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 47th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 33rd to 60th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (56 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is protection from sale and ads (45 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Provinces grant record access and Quebec and Ontario allow blocking, but records stop at provincial borders and only 13% see core records online.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
52/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 33rd to 60th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 50 out of 100 in Canada; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Provincial laws give a right to a copy, and the largest provinces run portals with labs and medications. But in 2025 only 13% of adults could see test results, vaccines and medication history online, and Quebec holds results back 30 days. Source: Ontario e-Laws, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Canada?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Canada. Control over who sees it scores 55 out of 100 in Canada; the typical country scores 30. Control depends on the province. Quebec lets patients block named providers or categories from chosen items and shows an access log in Carnet santé, while Ontario cut its EHR blocks to whole repositories in February 2026 and gives logs only on request. Source: Gouvernement du Québec, July 1, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does Canada compare?
In 2026, Canada scores 52 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with United States (48 out of 100), Australia (66 out of 100) and United Kingdom (59 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with United States, Australia, United Kingdom and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
50
50 · 70 · 66
Control over who sees it20%
55
35 · 68 · 52
Privacy and security15%
58
50 · 62 · 56
One record across your care15%
50
60 · 70 · 62
Protection from sale and ads10%
45
38 · 65 · 60
Doctors see it when treating you10%
55
55 · 66 · 60
Your say over research use5%
49
49 · 50 · 64
Rules for AI in your care5%
56
56 · 55 · 55
Black dot: Canada. Hollow dots: United States, Australia, United Kingdom (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Canada 52 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Canada need to change to score higher?
Canada sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (50 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and control over who sees it (55 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Which laws give health record rights in Canada?
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) (2000): Consent-based private-sector privacy law; four provinces have health laws deemed substantially similar.
Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), Ontario (2004): Access within 30 days at cost recovery, marketing needs express consent, EHR access logging, fines up to $1 million.
Loi sur les renseignements de santé et de services sociaux (LRSSS), Quebec (2023): Right to restrict named providers, know who accessed records, and controlled researcher access.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
28.5 2024 · 31st highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
116 2024 · 14th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
27.9% 2023 · 11th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"Diagnostic imaging reports from most private clinics will not be available in Health Gateway as they currently are not available to our provincial repository."
Real cases
March 19, 2026 · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (PHIPA Decision 332) · archived copy Doctor did not answer a patient's request for their own health record
February 6, 2026 · Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (Order F26-09) · archived copy Health authority ordered to release withheld lines from a patient's own hospital record
In 2026, Canada scored 52 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 47th of 198 countries and territories (could be 33rd to 60th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/canada/
The 27 sources for Canada
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004”
Ontario e-Laws (law or regulation) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
“Limiter l'accès aux renseignements de santé et de services sociaux” [Limiting access to health and social services information] our machine translation
Gouvernement du Québec [Government of Québec] (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated July 1, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Your say over research use
“Enquête sur l'utilisation des technologies numériques par les fournisseurs de soins de santé, 2025” [Survey on the use of digital technologies by health care providers, 2025] our machine translation
Statistics Canada (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated March 30, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“Accès aux renseignements de santé et de services sociaux par les chercheurs” [Access to health and social services information by researchers] our machine translation
Gouvernement du Québec [Government of Québec] (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated January 27, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/canada/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
