Health Reports, November 2025

High uptake of virtual care among Canadians

While use of virtual care by Canadians has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, it continues to play an important role in health care delivery. Therefore, it is important to know how virtual care has been used more recently and what sociodemographic characteristics and health-related factors are associated with its use.

The article entitled "Virtual care use in Canada: Variation across sociodemographic and health-related factors" is based on data from the 2023 Canadian Social Survey – Quality of Life, Virtual Health Care and Trust, held from July 14 to September 7. The article found that, in 2023, more than half (57.5%) of health care users had in-person appointments only in the 12 months preceding the survey and 5.3% had virtual appointments only. More than one-third (37.2%) had both in-person and virtual appointments.

Among individuals who wanted or were offered virtual care in 2023, more than three-quarters (78.5%) had a virtual appointment. Most virtual visits were with a family doctor, general practitioner or nurse practitioner only (62.1%). Having a university degree, no regular health care provider and multimorbidity were associated with virtual care use.

Fewer than 1 in 10 health care users (8.9%) declined a virtual appointment in 2023; the main reasons these users gave were greater comfort with in-person care and having a health issue requiring an in-person appointment. Technology-related concerns were not commonly reported as reasons for declining virtual care.

The findings of this study can inform policymakers, health system planners and health care providers about virtual care use following the pandemic and help reduce inequities in access by identifying groups that are less likely to access virtual care.

Consumption of ultra-processed and minimally processed foods in Canada varies by eating location and occasion

There is growing evidence that high consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPF) and low consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods and drinks (MPF) are associated with negative effects on human and planetary health. Characteristics of eating environments, including eating location (e.g., home, restaurant) and eating occasion (e.g., breakfast, lunch), can influence food intake. The article entitled "Consumption of ultra-processed and minimally processed foods by eating location and occasion in Canada" used 2015 national dietary data, the most recent available, to describe the most common locations and occasions at which Canadians consume UPF and MPF.

In 2015, Canadians aged 2 years and older consumed, on average, most of their total daily energy at home (70.1%), with dinner accounting for one-third (33.1%) of energy intake. Meals consumed at home and in institutions like school or workplaces generally provided lower shares of energy from UPF and higher shares from MPF compared with restaurants and "other" location types. Dinner consumed at home had the most favourable profile in terms of type of processing. Overall, 30.6% of total energy intake from dinner consumed at home was from UPF and 53.9% was from MPF. UPF consumption in restaurants, as a proportion of total energy intake from meals in restaurants, was high for all age groups (more than 50% of energy), particularly for children and adolescents (more than 65% of energy).

These findings suggest that both eating location and occasion may play a role in terms of energy intake from UPF and MPF. Although findings are based on data from 2015, the observed patterns of UPF and MPF consumption according to eating location and occasion likely remain relevant today. This information could help inform the design of policies and programs aiming to foster healthy eating environments.