What Dems and the Left Want for America - Canadian Woman Waits 12 Hours in the Emergency Room

Democratic Socialists like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) have long touted the wonders of socialized healthcare. They point to places like the United Kingdom and Canada as their examples of what an amazing thing it is. It's amazing, alright — amazingly bad. The story of one Canadian woman's visit to the emergency room should be heard by every American who thinks socialized medicine might be the answer to the U.S. healthcare system.

Patient in Canada waits over 12 hours in hospital emergency room

“This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there."

Canadians not happy with their medical carehttps://t.co/CC39i8GOVp https://t.co/04pRQVnjWj
— John R Lott Jr. (@JohnRLottJr) March 16, 2026

Amanda Gushue, 37, who lives in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, went to see her primary care physician, who instructed her to go to the emergency room for a swollen appendix. When she got there, she waited for two hours in the triage area and was then sent to the waiting room, where a video screen said the wait time to see any medical professional was anywhere from five to fifteen hours. Gushue eventually waited another 10-12 hours. She described the scene in the ER, saying:

“There were probably about 150 seats, and they were all full. This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there."

She added that there are a lot of nurses but not enough doctors. She also described an elderly woman waiting with a head wound. The woman was holding a bandage to her head and was "bleeding profusely." It was then that Gushue captured the video screen, which said, “Longest wait time to see a doctor or nurse 15 hrs – 30 mins.”

WOW: Video from a Canadian emergency room shows wait time up to 15 HOURS to see a doctor.

Canadians face income tax rates of up to 54%, to fund this???pic.twitter.com/lqfqVS9GfD
— Élie Cantin-Nantel (@elie_mcn) February 20, 2026

More examples: patients spending as many as six days on an overflow stretcher, beds in storage rooms, and, in January in Edmonton, Alberta, a man died while waiting for nearly eight hours in the ER with chest pain. Dr. Warren Thirsk is an ER doctor in Edmonton, and said, "What used to be a mass casualty event is now the new norm."

Adding to the chaos are extremely overworked medical staff. Gushue said, "They're working around the clock, and then after a 16- or 17-hour shift, you get a cranky doctor." But there is also another reason the Canadian healthcare system is bursting at the seams. Toronto Sun political columnist Lorne Gunter said it out loud, the roughly 2.3 million immigrants that were let in to Canada during former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's final two years in office. Sound familiar?

ALSO READ: Is Canada Set to Legalize Post-Birth Euthanasia?

Gushue was eventually admitted and had her appendix removed. She is recovering and says she "feels great." But she also said what other Canadians looking for better healthcare have undoubtedly said, "I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly."

It's what Democrats want to bring to an emergency room near you.

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