Purpose: The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) is increasing with the aging population; correspondingly, the demand for OA care, including hip and knee replacement surgery, is increasing. Simultaneously, combined with patients seeking surgery at younger ages and more revision surgeries, there is an increasing burden on the healthcare system. In systems with limited surgical capacity, such as Canada’s, this is raising concerns about lengthy surgical wait times. Policy makers are being called upon to identify means of managing these anticipated future demands in order to meet benchmark targets in a way that is sustainable.