Montréal ER wait times — live board
CONNECTING TO THE BOARD FEED…
All 21 Montréal-region emergency rooms on one live board — occupancy, patients present, patients still waiting, and average stay, from the ministry's hourly file. The island runs the hottest ER numbers in Québec most nights; here is where they actually stand right now, hospital by hospital.
The hospitals, ranked by live pressure
Sorted busiest-first; the pinned card is this city's own hospital. «Not reported» means the ministry's current file has no figure for that ER — we never substitute an old one.
How to read these numbers — honestly
The headline figure is stretcher occupancy: how many of an ER's functional stretchers are in use. 100% means every stretcher is full; Québec ERs routinely run past 130% in winter — patients on stretchers in hallways. It is a pressure gauge, not a "minutes until a doctor sees you" estimate: triage category decides who is seen first, and a quiet-looking ER can still mean a long wait for minor complaints. The province publishes its own estimated wait for non-priority cases per facility on quebec.ca — use both together: our board for pressure and trend, theirs for the official estimate. We relay the ministry's hourly file verbatim and compute only the percentage.
Not sure the ER is the right place?
Québec's Info-Santé 811 line (option 1) puts a nurse on the phone 24/7, and 811 option 3 (Guichet d'accès à la première ligne) can book urgent same-week appointments with a doctor or nurse — often the faster path for non-emergencies. Walk-in clinics and pharmacists (who can now treat several minor conditions in Québec) are alternatives worth checking before a multi-hour ER visit. When in doubt, go to the ER — this is information, not medical advice.
Transit Barometer is an independent data board — not affiliated with the MSSS, Santé Québec, or any hospital. Figures are the ministry's own hourly open-data file, relayed verbatim under CC-BY 4.0 (Source : MSSS / Données Québec). On any discrepancy, the official page wins.
Questions Montréal residents ask
Which Montréal ER has the shortest wait right now?
The cards above sort Montréal's 21 ERs by live pressure — lowest occupancy sits at the bottom. For non-urgent visits, a big spread between hospitals is common and worth acting on; for emergencies, nearest ER or 911, always.
Why does Montréal run the highest ER occupancy in Québec?
Volume and admissions: the island's hospitals carry the province's heaviest caseload, and admitted patients waiting for ward beds hold stretchers — pushing the region well past 100% most winters. The live regional total is in the chips above.
Are children's ERs on this board?
Yes — Montréal's pediatric ERs (Sainte-Justine and the Montreal Children's) appear in the ministry's file and on the cards above. On tough nights their occupancy can exceed the adult hospitals'.
What about the West Island and Laval?
The West Island's hospitals are part of the Montréal region on this page. Laval's Cité-de-la-Santé is its own region in the ministry's file — its live figures appear on the all-Québec board.
Should I just go to the least busy ER on the list?
For minor problems it can save hours — but first consider 811 option 3 (same-week urgent appointments), a walk-in clinic, or a pharmacist. And distance matters: a 40-minute drive can erase the advantage of a quieter board.
How often do these numbers update?
The ministry stamps a new file every hour; the page re-fetches on the same rhythm and shows the file's own timestamp at the top, so you always know exactly how fresh the reading is.