Chief medical officer quits, cites work environment ‘challenges’

Manitoba’s provincial chief medical officer is resigning from his position at Shared Health, citing the role’s demands and work environment challenges in an email viewed by the Free Press.

Dr. José Francois, who’s held the executive position since April 2024, sent an email to provincial medical specialty leads that said his final day will be Jan. 17, 2027, after he submitted his resignation Wednesday. Several other senior leaders have departed the provincial health authority in recent months.

“Serving in this role has been a privilege,” Francois, a longtime family physician from Ste. Anne, wrote in the email.

He said his “greatest pleasure” was working alongside and supporting an “exceptional group” of provincial medical specialty leads and chief medical officers.

“Your dedication, professionalism and unwavering commitment to improving the health care for Manitobans have been a constant source of inspiration and professional satisfaction,” Francois wrote.

“However, the demands of the role, coupled with the challenges of the work environment, have led me to reflect on my professional priorities and seek opportunities that offer a renewed sense of purpose, fulfillment and enjoyment.”

“Serving in this role has been a privilege.”

Francois was not available for an interview Thursday, a Shared Health spokesperson said.

In a statement provided by the authority, Francois said he is committed to supporting a smooth transition and the “continued advancement” of work done by the provincial medical administration office and Francophone health teams.

The search for his successor will begin immediately, the Shared Health spokesperson said.

“His contributions to primary care, physician recruitment and training, and innovative approaches to improving access, quality and equity have made a meaningful difference across the health system,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Francois was also recognized for his advocacy for accessible health services in French, and his work to advance bilingual medical education and care.

A health-care source, who did not want to be identified, said uncertainty in structure and leadership is making it difficult for leaders to make changes for the better or to tackle problems that have long existed in Manitoba’s health-care system.

Three years into the NDP government’s term, Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority are operating as they were previously, but without permanent leadership, the source said. Both organizations have interim CEOs.

There were signals the government isn’t happy with the current structure of how the health system is organized, but changes have not been made, the source said.

The source said it’s hard to be effective when you think your position or organization might not exist soon.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara thanked Francois for his leadership. Asagwara said the government’s focus is having the “best leaders in these roles,” and making sure leaders work together in the best interests of health care.

“All of the leaders in health care have big roles, big jobs. They work very hard to serve Manitobans,” the minister said at an unrelated news conference in Brandon.

“There are all kinds of reasons why folks move on from their roles in health care. We wish folks all the best, including this case.”

A Doctors Manitoba spokesperson said Francois has played a key role as provincial chief medical officer, seeking front-line physician input, as changes are planned and implemented to improve care for patients.

“We are disappointed to learn he is leaving his leadership role, and we hope to see Shared Health find a new medical leader as committed as Dr. Francois has been to engaging physicians as partners in the health system,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“There are all kinds of reasons why folks move on from their roles in health care. We wish folks all the best.”

Francois, who was hired after a national search, is responsible for providing senior medical leadership on behalf of Manitoba’s health-care system, an online biography said. The role includes leading and co-ordinating the provincial medical leadership council, and overseeing Shared Health’s physicians.

Prior to his first day in the role, he told the Free Press in March 2024 that doctor recruitment and retention would be a top priority. A Shared Health news release at that time said he was the first provincial chief medical officer.

Francois has been a family doctor for more than 25 years. He was named Doctors Manitoba’s physician of the year in 2024.

He previously had other roles within Shared Health and the WRHA and is an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College.

The former Tory government created Shared Health in 2018 in a bid to centralize some services and reduce duplication within layers of administration at provincial and regional levels.

The authority’s responsibilities include running Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, rural and northern emergency medical services, and public-sector laboratory and diagnostic imaging.

Shared Health, which has more than 18,000 employees, is overseen by a board of directors that reports to Asagwara.

Interim president and CEO Dr. Chris Christodoulou replaced Lanette Siragusa, who was fired in early 2025 along with WRHA CEO Mike Nader, after separate audits highlighted deficits that impeded each authority’s ability “to make the best decisions for patient care, plan effectively for future health care needs and support front-line staff.”

Siragusa had replaced Adam Topp, who resigned in April 2023 after two years as CEO. Nader was replaced by Jane Curtis, who remains interim CEO at the WRHA.

Shared Health began searches earlier this year to fill three executive positions: corporate services vice-president and chief financial officer; vice-president of quality, strategy and performance; and chief operating officer of mental health and addictions.

The next chief financial officer will be the authority’s fourth since 2023.

Shared Health hired a new associate chief medical officer earlier this year.

The NDP government set out to trim health-care bureaucracy and direct that money to patient care when it was elected in 2023. In August, Premier Wab Kinew said his government removed eight per cent of Shared Health’s senior management in its first year in office.

chris.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com