After seeing what has happened in the United States I don't support a two tiered system. Money gets sucked out of the public system and services get reduced, and the mandate to provide truly universal care gets lost in the search for profit.
The biggest problem in the US is the way the insurance and HMOs operate, but that is a separate thing from the Canadian discussion, since the province would still essentially be paying for most things that are being provided. And don't kid yourself - there are a lot of things the government doesn't cover, or will reduce coverage on.
Canada is very socialized, of course, but does someone making $28k really think they are entitled to be provided the same services that someone making $280k can afford to buy? All that does is drag everyone down to a lower level.
Public health care from day one was not created to provide all services to all people - it was created to ensure that all people, regardless of means, could get at least the basics covered. Trying to be all things to all people is not feasible, nor even possible.
But does Canada need improvements? Absolutely. But delivered through a public system that is accountable and responsible and truly universal.
As others have stated, Canada has enough private medicine as is. Family practices are mostly private and many clinic or testing services are private. No need to expand private services at all.
The only thing universal will be that is is universally limited to everyone who can't afford to go to the US. Either we allow some private care or we don't. Since we already do, I don't understand the resistance to open up more private facilities to relieve the overburdened public system.
Yes - there is a doctor and nurse shortage that needs to be taken care of, regardless of the public vs private debate. Is anyone able to illuminate us on what is or isn't being done in this regard? Beyond the people themselves, there are also equipment and facility shortages that need to be addressed. Both these shortages need to be improved and it's entirely reasonable to think that some sort of workable balance between public and private care can be reached.
One thing would be to remove limits that doctors are working under. If there aren't enough doctors, why make it worse by limiting the number of people that doctors can see? Suppose a doctor/nurse/xray tech wants to work in a private clinic - ensure they get paid the same rates in either system and put in some sort of oversight that requires them to work a certain number of hours in either system, say 1:1 or whatever is deemed workable.