Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility Checker

This page is general information from public health sources, not medical advice. Eligibility is decided by the screening program and your care team.

Who qualifies for lung cancer screening in Canada?

The only national benchmark is the 2016 guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. It recommends an annual low-dose CT scan, up to three times in a row, for adults aged 55 to 74 with at least 30 pack-years who currently smoke or quit less than 15 years ago. The Task Force calls this a weak recommendation based on low-quality evidence, strongly recommends against screening for everyone else, and does not recommend chest X-ray for screening. The page is still titled 2016 and shows no update notice as of 27 October 2026.

Provincial programs have moved ahead of that guideline. They tend to ask how many years you smoked, then run a risk calculation, so someone under 30 pack-years can still be invited.

What are the rules in each province?

The table lists the programs whose rules we could confirm on a government or health-authority page on 27 October 2026. Programs are expanding, and several are limited to certain regions, so call before assuming you are covered.

Province	Age	Smoking history	Notes
Alberta	50 to 74	Currently smoke cigarettes, or quit after a long history; the page’s example is 1 pack a day for at least 15 years	Self-referral line 1-866-727-3926
British Columbia	55 to 74	20 years or more, current or past (HealthLinkBC); BC Cancer describes a “significant history” of regular smoking	Needs a primary care provider; phone assessment at 1-877-717-5864
Nova Scotia	50 to 74	Smoked daily for at least 20 years, including people who have quit	Central and Eastern Zones only so far; 1-833-505-5864
Saskatchewan	50 to 74	Not stated in the government release; the agency says high-risk adults	Pilot began in Swift Current in July 2025
National guideline	55 to 74	At least 30 pack-years; smoke now or quit less than 15 years ago	Task Force, 2016

We left out Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, the remaining Atlantic provinces and the territories because we could not open an official page that stated their current criteria. Do not read their absence as meaning they have no program.

Is meeting the criteria enough?

No. Nova Scotia Health says not everyone who meets the age and smoking criteria will qualify for a CT scan. A nurse navigator asks about your health and smoking and works out your personal risk. If you are not at high enough risk, you may be asked to call back in a year. BC Cancer’s navigators do a 5 to 10 minute phone consultation, and its professional guidance says eligibility depends on an online risk calculator with no single cut-off published on the page.

People with symptoms are routed elsewhere. BC Cancer tells clinicians that a cough that will not go away or unexplained weight loss should lead to diagnostic testing, not screening, and Alberta’s page says screening is not a way to investigate a persistent cough, chest pain, coughing up blood or shortness of breath. If that describes you, read when a smoker’s cough needs a doctor.

How do I check my own pack-years?

A pack-year is the number of packs smoked per day multiplied by the number of years you have smoked. The US National Cancer Institute’s glossary gives that definition. Smoking 1.5 packs a day for 20 years is 30 pack-years (1.5 x 20). Smoking half a pack a day for 40 years is 20.

Use the pack-year calculator to add up periods when your habit changed. Keep the years as well: BC’s clinical guideline on tobacco use disorder tells clinicians to record the number of years smoked, which it calls a better risk indicator than pack-years. Most provincial programs in the table ask for years, so have both numbers ready when you phone.

What if I still smoke?

Screening does not replace quitting. Saskatchewan’s government says its program also offers support for people who want to quit smoking. If you have smoked for many years, the health effects of smoking on your lungs and the stages of COPD are worth reading alongside this page, and the quit smoking hub lists free help in every province.