Our Investigation Office specializes in the art of establishing the facts. Throughout the election campaign, our researchers present their findings to you to flush out the candidates’ surprising, dubious or downright false statements, and allow you to see them more clearly.
THE STATEMENT
Last Friday, Liberal leader Dominique Anglade suggested that more Quebecers today are without a family doctor than four years ago. “In 2018, we had 400,000 Quebecers who did not have a family doctor. It is not normal that today we have reached 1 million Quebecers who do not have access to a family doctor,” she said, as part of a discussion organized by the New World Institute and The duty.
FACTS
Mme Anglade is wrong: fewer Quebecers today are without a family doctor. Since François Legault became Prime Minister, the number of Quebecers registered with a family doctor or a group of doctors has increased from 6,394,000 to 6,654,000, an increase of 4.1% over almost 4 years. However, it is true that the number of Quebecers on the waiting list to obtain the services of a family doctor increased radically during the CAQ’s mandate, rising from 474,000 to 830,000. Thus, more Quebecers have access to a family doctor, but more Quebecers are also actively seeking their services.