In 2024, two thirds (66.8%) of employees in Canada reported that they had workplace medical or dental benefits through their main job, a proportion that has trended upwards since 2021. Employees working full-time or with permanent jobs had higher rates of coverage compared with employees working part-time or with temporary jobs. Public sector employees and those covered by a collective bargaining agreement were also more likely to have access to medical or dental care through their job.
Workplace medical or dental benefits coverage—the proportion of employees with access to supplemental medical or dental care benefits in their main job—is an important indicator of quality of employment. While many provinces and territories have some level of supplemental prescription drug or dental care coverage for children and seniors, working-age Canadians generally rely on coverage provided by their employer or acquired privately.Note Note
Access to supplemental coverage for medical or dental care can improve health outcomes by increasing the likelihood that employees see health professionals.Note Dependence on an employer for access to medical or dental insurance means that variations in employer-provided coverage may lead to disparities in health outcomes among workers.
Data on access to supplemental medical or dental benefits have been collected in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) since March 2020. Unless otherwise specified, estimates are based on annual averages for employees aged 15 and older.
Recent trends
The proportion of employees with access to workplace medical or dental benefits rose for the third year in a row in 2024. In 2021, 63.3% of employees had workplace medical or dental benefits. This share rose successively to 64.2% in 2022, 66.4% in 2023 and 66.8% in 2024.
A recent snapshot
Women are less likely to have workplace medical or dental coverage compared with men, driven by higher rates of part-time work
Among employees in 2024, 63.8% of women had workplace medical or dental benefits compared with 69.5% of men. The gender gap in workplace medical or dental coverage partly reflects the fact that women were almost twice as likely to work part-time than men (21.6% vs. 11.4%). Indeed, the rate of workplace medical or dental coverage was considerably lower among employees working part-time (20.7%) compared with those in full-time positions (76.1%). In fact, the gender gap in coverage largely disappeared when comparing women (75.5%) and men (76.6%) working full-time.
Young employees were least likely to have workplace medical or dental benefits
In 2024, employees aged 15 to 24 were much less likely to have access to supplemental medical or dental care benefits through their main job (27.6%) than employees in the core-age group of 25- to 54-year-olds (75.1%) and employees aged 55 and older (67.4%). Although some younger employees, particularly those under 18, may have medical or dental care coverage from their parents’ health insurance plans, older youth without workplace coverage could face unique challenges accessing supplementary medical or dental care, especially given that their hourly wages tend to be lower.
Youth remained much less likely to have access to employer-provided medical or dental benefits than core-aged employees, even when working full-time (46.3%, compared with 79.4% for core-aged employees working full-time).
In 2024, half (50.0%) of employees aged 15 to 24 worked in sales and service occupations, an occupational group with a lower rate of workplace medical or dental care coverage. Furthermore, the proportion of employees with access to workplace medical or dental care benefits was notably low among youth working part-time (8.6%).
Temporary employees less likely to have access to medical or dental benefits
Temporary jobs are typically associated with greater job insecurity. In April 2025, temporary employees were nearly four times more likely than permanent employees to agree or strongly agree that they might lose their main job in the next six months (22.8% vs. 5.8%).Note Furthermore, many employees in temporary jobs also had to contend with a lack of medical or dental benefits. In 2024, less than 3 in 10 (26.1%) employees in temporary jobs received either type of benefit through their job.
Unlike their counterparts with a temporary job, employees in permanent jobs have been increasingly likely to have medical or dental care benefits in recent years. Among permanent employees in 2024, 71.9% had access to workplace medical or dental care benefits, up 3.6 percentage points from 2021 (68.3%). On the other hand, the proportion of temporary employees who were covered by workplace medical or dental care plans has fallen, from 26.8% in 2021 to 26.1% in 2024.
Employees whose jobs were both part-time and temporary had particularly low rates of workplace medical or dental coverage. While nearly 8 in 10 (79.1%) full-time permanent employees had access to workplace medical or dental benefits in 2024, only 1 in 10 (9.7%) temporary part-time employees did.
Data table for Chart 1
Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1 Temporary and Permanent, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Temporary
Permanent
percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, custom tabulation.
Full-time
Part-time
Employees in Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador are least likely to have workplace medical or dental care coverage
In 2024, Saskatchewan (71.7%), Manitoba (70.3%), British Columbia (70.0%) and Alberta (69.7%) had the highest rates of workplace medical or dental care coverage among employees, while Quebec (60.6%), Prince Edward Island (63.2%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (63.6%) posted the lowest rates.
The lower rate of workplace medical or dental coverage in Quebec may be due to the unique public health insurance framework in the province.Note Unlike other provinces, Quebec mandates that all residents have prescription drug insurance, either through a private plan or through prescription drug coverage from the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ),Note Note which may reduce the need for employers to offer supplementary medical or dental care benefits.
Access to workplace medical or dental care coverage is higher among unionized and public sector employees
As unions negotiate collective bargaining agreements with employers, they can influence wage levels, as well as a number of non-wage job characteristics, including supplemental medical or dental benefits.
In 2024, 83.0% of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement had workplace medical or dental coverage, compared with 59.7% of those not covered by a collective agreement.
Employees in the public sector, who were five times more likely to be unionized than those in the private sector (76.6% vs. 15.0%), were also more likely to have supplemental medical or dental care benefits. Among public sector employees, 80.9% had workplace medical or dental coverage compared with 62.1% of private sector employees.
Workplace medical or dental care coverage among Chinese and Filipino employees was comparable to non-racialized and non-Indigenous employees
Some racialized groups experience health inequalities compared with non-racialized and non-Indigenous people.Note Furthermore, health outcomes can vary across racialized groups as a result of factors such as discrimination or lack of medical or dental insurance coverage.Note
In 2024, Chinese (68.6%) and Filipino (67.7%) employees had similar rates of workplace medical or dental coverage as non-racialized and non-Indigenous employees (68.4%).
On the other hand, employees who were West Asian (59.9%), Arab (59.4%) and Black (61.1%) were less likely to have access to workplace medical or dental care plans through their job than non-racialized, non-Indigenous employees.
A smaller share of First Nations employees living off-reserve had medical or dental benefits in their job compared with non-Indigenous employees
Among both First Nations employees living off-reserve (63.4%) and Inuit employees living in the provinces (57.4%), the proportion who had workplace medical or dental benefits was lower than among non-Indigenous employees (66.6%) in 2024. There was little difference between Métis employees living in the provinces (65.5%) and their non-Indigenous counterparts.
The lower rate of access to benefits among First Nations employees living off-reserve is partly related to the higher proportion who are in the 15 to 24 age group relative to non-Indigenous employees (21.5% vs. 14.2%). Among employees aged 25 to 54, similar proportions of First Nations employees living off-reserve in the provinces and non-Indigenous employees had access to dental or medical benefits (75.0% compared with 74.8%). However, among persons aged 55 and over, First Nations employees living off-reserve were less likely to have access to workplace medical or dental care benefits than their non-Indigenous counterparts (61.7% compared with 67.3%).
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Information on the indicator
Description or definition
The medical or dental benefits coverage indicator is the number of employees aged 15 and older who report having access to supplemental medical or dental care through their main job, expressed as a percentage of all employees.
Source
Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2021 to 2024.
Information for interpretation
For more information on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) methodology and population coverage, please consult the Guide to the Labour Force Survey, 2025.
The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. The analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Due to rounding, estimates and percentages may differ slightly between different Statistics Canada products, such as analytical documents and data tables.
In the LFS, the concept of Indigenous group includes persons who reported being an Indigenous person, that is, First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit). Excluded from the survey’s coverage are people living on reserves and other Indigenous settlements in the provinces as well as those living in the territories.
Other related information
Additional Statistics Canada data are available on the following subject:
Earnings, wages and non-wage benefits
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